A Mortal Mistake
by sickoftakenpennames
Summary: The danger of the realms merging has passed, but the Elder gods are willing to do whatever it takes to prevent such a fate from occuring again. Unfortunately for Raiden, their decision will force him to pay the price. Now a depowered thunder god must work with his only remaining allies to stop the new threat on the horizon before it's too late. M-LV, some Sonya/Johnny.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, giving this a shot; first MK fic, so hope it works out. This will pretty much only follow the canon from Armageddon (I think? There's so many damn titles _) on (but starts after the ending of 9). Even then, if there are any continuity errors, forgive me.**

**Also, I spell it Raiden, not Rayden. I'm fairly sure that's the correct way, but again, if I'm not, be lenient.**

_"You have failed us."_

_The words boomed throughout space, echoing against the almost non-existent planes that bound the location together. There were no walls in this place that existed on the fringes of time, dimensions and consciousness. _

_He remained motionless, partially out of respect and partially forced by the will of his superiors who now addressed him. He knew his two companions, with whom he had teleported out of Earthrealm along with himself, were standing somewhere nearby, bewildered; but then again, this was not the place at which he had intended to transport them. They had been redirected somehow. And now he knew why._

"_You permitted Shao Kahn to proceed with the merging of the realms and allowed Quan Chi to obtain the souls of the fallen," an Elder god bellowed accusingly. _

"_Raiden?" a tall, fierce-looking blonde called out from behind him, startled and irritated. "What is this?" Unfortunately, he could not address her at this time._

"_You recklessly endangered the lives of all those who inhabit the realms," another Elder stated._

_Raiden still could not give an answer; yes, their allegations were true, but couldn't they see that he had done it to protect the realms, most importantly his own? Couldn't they have seen that when they assisted him in bringing down Shao Kahn? Until he was specifically addressed in the form of a question, however, he could not reply to their charges._

"_Do you understand the implications of your actions, Thunder God?"_

_He struggled to find the right response._

"…_Yes," he admitted, shakingly. "But I only did it to…"_

"_Raiden?" He was cut off by a man in sunglasses with a large tattoo across his chest. "What the hell is going on here?" _

_He closed his eyes in frustration and tried again, but evidently the Elders felt his friend had spoken for him._

"_We cannot afford to have so close a call again, Raiden," the first Elder said, silencing the accused's end of the argument. "This is the second time matters have gone out of your control."_

_But he had not failed the first time! He had fixed the course of events to prevent it from ever happening! Of course, the toll in lives had been high, but the ends justified the means, didn't they? He could fix everything, if he just had time and the opportunity…_

"_We hereby deem you unfit for your position as Defender of Earthrealm."_

No.

"_The well-being of the realm will be seen to by another from now on."_

No.

"_Do you understand, Thunder God?"_

No.

"_Raiden?" Sonya called again, frustrated with the lack of answers she and Johnny were getting._

No.

"_A new protector has already been chosen."_

_Still mentally protesting, he could vaguely register the deity that had appeared to his far left, a figure with long, slicked-back grey hair and eyes similar to his own._

"_You are freed from your obligations as Defender, Thunder God."_

_Gods weren't supposed to demonstrate emotions outwardly, if they had any at all. But he was now visibly wracked by nerves at the prospect of being torn away from what had been his purpose since he came into existence._

"Raiden?"_ Johnny yelled again, trying in vain to grab Raiden's attention before something happened._

"_Do not worry, Thunder God," the deity with silver hair assured him. "I will not fail you."_

It is too late, _Raiden thought_. I have already failed you.

_At that moment he could feel the threads of reality unwinding; the space fell apart into the thresholds of existence, teleporting him and his friends to a new location unknown. _

_He thought of how he had let down Earthrealm._

_How he had let down Outworld._

_All of the realms._

_He thought of Liu Kang._

_And then everything went dark._


	2. Chapter 2

Cars drove by the front wrought-iron gate. Inside racks of flamboyant costumes, cases of special effects makeup, and various other props were making their respective ways in and out of the storehouses that lined the main pathway of the studio lot. However, despite the familiar chaos of staff members shoving past each other and directors yelling over the clamor, there was no shooting scheduled today; everything was being put away for an indefinite period of time as the city was scheduled to begin its long recovery process from a bizarre ambush from attackers that had yet to be identified.

In an obscure corner of the lot, an anomaly began to form in the sky, although subtle enough that anyone caught in the frenzy of clean up paid it no mind. The swirling mist crackled and fizzled, and in a quick flash of light, deposited a screaming set of figures, whose cries again went unnoticed by the production crews. The patch in the sky cleared up as quickly as it had appeared, and the panicked shouts of the group it dropped were cut off by the thud of slamming with the pavement.

Johnny Cage was the first to try and pick himself up, having face planted onto the sidewalk. Struggling, he propped himself up on his elbows, then stopped. Making a strange expression, he sputtered out a small amount of blood. He quickly ran his tongue over his teeth to make sure he hadn't just accidentally spat them out along with the patch that now stained the concrete. Luckily (considering the alternative), it seemed he had only chomped down on his tongue when his chin made contact with the pavement. At least he didn't have to worry about implants for now.

As he wiped the last of his blood from his mouth, he heard another muffled groan from behind. When he turned to look, he saw Sonya propping herself up on her hands and knees, trying to reorient herself. Judging by how battered she was, Johnny had to imagine he didn't look like he could be in much better shape.

Putting his hand to his lip to make sure there wasn't any more bleeding, he managed to inquire groggily, "What just happened?"

Sonya turned to give him a look that most likely meant she thought he must be some kind of idiot (surprise, surprise) for thinking she could have the answer, but her attention was quickly diverted to something off to their right.

Following her gaze, Johnny could see something strange in the middle of the alley in which they had made a crash landing. Or perhaps _embedded_ in the alley was a more appropriate term; whatever it was had slammed into the ground with such force the shock had crushed the concrete around it, like a small earthquake had taken place in one spot.

Johnny picked himself up somewhat and took a few steps closer to investigate the oddity; to his surprise, a man with silver hair was lying unconscious in the mini-crater. Even more unusually, even though he seemed to be just as battered as Sonya and Johnny were, he was dressed in simple white clothing that looked unnaturally fresh.

Johnny wondered if he should try to catch someone's attention and get the man to a hospital, especially since it seemed he had landed square on his back, as opposed to himself and Sonya, who was now crawling over to get a closer look. But before he could consider carrying the action out, he was interrupted by a gasp from his partner.

"Oh my God, it's him!" Sonya cried, startling Johnny, who hadn't seen her this shocked before. Now he was the one looking at her like she was crazy. They had never seen this man before.

"Who?" Johnny responded, confused.

"Him, Johnny!" Sonya said, scrambling to get closer to the stranger. "Look at him!"

Johnny did look again, but he still couldn't see what his friend was so worked up about. He considered going to get help again.

"It's Raiden!"

…What? No, it wasn't. It couldn't be!

Johnny looked again, and it was his turn to be surprised. She was right; he recognized their friend now, lying lifelessly in the ditch he had created when they crashed from the heavens. Strangely, his face didn't suggest an age that matched his hair, but he still didn't look to be in good condition, to say the least.

"Damn!" Johnny uttered. "What do we do?"

Whether Sonya had heard him or not was unclear; she was focused on trying to receive a sign of life from Raiden. Careful not to move his neck or shoulders, she put her hands on his cheeks and spoke to him.

"Raiden? Can you hear me?" she asked in an attempt to elicit a response. Nothing came. Now both she and Johnny were genuinely unnerved.

"Oh, jeez. Is he dead?" Johnny spat out without thinking.

"Of course not!" Sonya snapped at him in what was fairly blatant denial. One she calmed down, she tried to think of a way to rationalize her answer. "No. He can't be. They couldn't just dump him here like this so he could die. There has to be a reason," she argued, referencing the change the Elders had made to his appearance.

She stopped suddenly, and so did Johnny, for they thought they had heard something that had not come from their conversation. They looked and waited patiently at their fallen comrade, anticipating hopefully that they didn't just hear something from the crews running around in the main street. But an uncomfortable amount of moments passed, and Johnny couldn't help but look at Sonya and think of what they would possibly do now if…

He stirred. Minimally, of course; he had only managed to emit a small whimper, but it was enough of a sign that they both let out the breath they hadn't realized they had been holding. While Sonya closed her eyes in momentary relief, Johnny noticed that Raiden's hand had managed to twitch slightly, indicating that he had nerve control, at least above his waist.

"Raiden? Do you hear me?" she asked again. Her response was another weak grunt, but it was good enough for her.

"Okay. Johnny, help me lift him up," she commanded, already trying to get a hand under her comrade's right knee and arm. Johnny almost protested, but Sonya was going to drop their friend if he didn't take the other side immediately, so he quickly copied her actions and threw Raiden's arm over his shoulders. They struggled to bring Raiden to his feet, which evidently weren't capable of supporting his weight at this point. The two resolved to just try and drag him along without attracting attention as best they could, but it was difficult with their baggage flailing helplessly like a ragdoll every two steps. Both noticed that he seemed to have shrunk in stature a bit, his formerly commanding height now reduced to proportions a bit more realistic for humans, and it struck them as a bit unusual, though they remained quiet on the issue.

"This isn't gonna work," Johnny complained, trying to shift Raiden's weight back to the position from which he was repeatedly slipping.

"Well, suck it up. We don't have any other choice," Sonya demanded, switching to lieutenant mode. Johnny scowled and did what he was told until he remembered something.

"Oh! Be right back!" he exclaimed, suddenly dropping his side of Raiden and leaving Sonya to cry out and swear in protest as her balance was thrown off. Johnny went back to retrieve his sunglasses, which fell off when he was dropped. Picking them up, he realized to his dismay that the right lens had been smashed in. _Oh well,_ he thought, shrugging. _Better than nothing._

He returned to Sonya and Raiden and tried to fit the glasses neatly onto the latter's face, a task a bit more challenging than it sounded because his head had been tossed askew to one side in Johnny's absence. But the actor managed to get them on decently. He smirked at Sonya, hoping for a sign of approval on behalf of his quick thinking, but all he received in response was another incredulous and irritated look.

"What the hell are these for?" Sonya retorted.

Taken aback, Johnny slung Raiden back into position as he replied, "Jeez, just thought it would help a little. I thought it would look a little weird to have some unconscious dude hanging off of our shoulders. Here, I'll take it off…"

"No, it's fine," Sonya said, exasperated. They just needed to get out of here, fast.

Once they had made their way to the mouth of the alley entrance, they could see the crowding in the main street. They looked both ways for a path out, but Johnny was the first to find it.

"Wait, this is Midway!" he exclaimed suddenly, quickly adding an explanation for Sonya, to whom that little tidbit meant nothing. "This is my main studio lot. That's gotta be the front entrance, over there," he said, gesturing with a swipe of his head in the general direction of their way out.

It felt odd for Sonya to be taking direction from Johnny; it was either the other way around or from Jax. _Well,_ she thought. _Obviously he knows his way around._

They attempted to make their way over by hiding behind clothes racks, rolling cameras, and whatever else gave them cover. Finally, much to Sonya's relief, they were approaching the main gateway. Fifteen more feet, the guards would recognize Johnny, and they would be…

"…Uh oh."

'_Uh oh?' _What did he mean, _'uh oh?'_ There was no time for _'uh oh,' _not here, not now!

"What is it?" Sonya asked fiercely, obviously growing more irritated by the second.

"We can't get out without a pass," Johnny explained.

…A pass?

"I have one in my trailer."

She looked at him incredulously.

"I can be back in five minutes."

Without warning, he left her again with their limp-jointed companion as he made a mad dash for whatever direction his trailer was. Now she had to figure out where she could hide Raiden and herself before…

"…Excuse me, ma'am?"

…Crap.

"Are you authorized to be in this lot?" inquired a young woman with a headset and clipboard. Quickly, Sonya scrambled to pose Raiden in what she hoped was an acceptable-looking pose. Luckily, his left foot miraculously managed to land in a sort of natural-looking kickstand position. She silently thanked Johnny for showing some foresight with the sunglasses. She immediately stood upright, beaming, with her hand on her hip. Together it looked like she and Raiden were old pals hanging around. She hoped. She also hoped the girl would attribute their haggard appearance to stage makeup.

"Um," Sonya scrambled for an answer. "Uh, yeah, yes, we are. It's just that we left our passes… in the back lot, and our friend is going right now…"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the girl responded, shaking her head. "You can't be on this lot without a pass. We've had to take stronger security measures lately…"

"He'll be back in a few seconds."

"I understand, but we need…"

"It's Johnny Cage."

That seemed to stop the girl a little, but she tried to continue, probably after realizing people lied about knowing movie stars all the time. Sonya took the opportunity to cut her off again.

"My, uh, uncle here is a huge fan," she fibbed, trying to look like she was affectionately patting Raiden on the back while at the same time trying not to lose her grip on him.

Luckily, the girl took the bait, probably thinking the unconscious man was an older gentlemen with whom a little chit-chat couldn't hurt. She smiled and inquired, "Oh, really? What's your favorite movie by him?"

Sonya's eyes grew wide as she tried to think of an answer, but she had never seen any of Johnny's movies. There wasn't time for flicks and popcorn when you were on army call 24/7.

"He really can't choose, he pretty much likes them all," she blurted out with a nervous chuckle, trying to subtly bob Raiden's head up and down like a marionette in false agreement.

By now the girl was obviously suspicious as to why this woman wasn't letting her uncle speak for himself. She was about to begin interrogating them again when Johnny sauntered up to their side, flashing a pass in his right hand.

"Not to worry, everyone," he gloated, pumping his hands in the air as if to calm down a frenzy. "The Cageman's gotcha covered."

Visibly surprised that the strangers had not been lying about their acquaintance, the girl smiled and apologized, "Oh, Mr. Cage. I'm sorry, they just didn't…"

"It's all right, sweetie," he assured her, walking over to Raiden's free side and flashing a thousand-dollar smile at the intern. "We're on our way out now."

"Are you sure you don't need help, though?" she asked quickly. "You all look kind of…"

"Personal project," Johnny lied swiftly. "Trying out directing. We're going to change now."

"…Well, is your uncle okay, ma'am?..."

"He's fine, just tired," Johnny cut in again. "Busy, busy, busy. Take care now, sugar!" he called out as he and Sonya continued to drag Raiden out of the gates and into the questioning-free streets, causing Sonya to exhale in relief.

"Thank God that's over with," she stated, slacking her weight a little. "How far now?" she asked, referring to wherever Johnny could take them.

"Only four blocks to my summer home," Johnny answered. Sonya cringed at the idea, but then tried to tell herself it wasn't too far.

"All right then," she said, standing back up and looking in the direction of the street. She paused when she noticed the slope of the road.

"…_Uphill? !"_


	3. Chapter 3

Sonya rested in the large armchair outside the guest room. Her muscles ached with the effort exerted during their trip uphill to Johnny's summer villa, at one point during which they had been forced to carry Raiden by his legs and shoulders as an alternative to their cumbersome initial method. On top of that, Sonya had convinced her partner that they were better off cutting through the trees than following the winding road that ran alongside the hill towards Johnny's place, just in case a car drove by and they would have to explain why they were dragging an unconscious body, which now lay in the guest bedroom.

After they had laid Raiden to rest, Johnny and Sonya began to tend to their own wounds. Using a first aid kit Johnny kept on hand in case of a training accident, the two were able to clean themselves up and, on Sonya's insistence, bandage some of Raiden's lacerations as well. Now all they had to do, _could_ do, was wait.

While they did so, Johnny came over to where Sonya was sitting and handed her a cup of coffee. She graciously accepted the gesture without a snide comment and sipped slowly as Johnny sat himself down near her on an ottoman nearby, holding his own cup but not drinking. From the look on his face, Sonya knew he was wondering if now would be a good time to check on their friend. It had been a little over an hour.

Sonya met his look with an expression of apprehension. Sighing, she took another sip of coffee before setting it down on the plate with which Johnny had provided her.

"Let's go," she said in a low voice, prompting Johnny to do the same with his own cup before following her to the guest room. She indicated for him to stay quiet as she cautiously opened the door. Poking her head around, she could see the light spot poking from underneath the dark covers that was Raiden's hair and shoulders. Their guest had not moved or changed his position from the way they left him in the bed over an hour ago.

She and Johnny walked quietly over to observe their fallen friend. It was approaching dark outside, and even though it was a bit difficult to make out each others' features in the dimming light, neither of them suggested turning on a lamp for fear of waking Raiden (although they were both hoping that was still possible at this point). Even in the dark, however, Sonya could still make out her ally's new appearance, burned into her memory earlier from the shock. Now his eyes and cheeks seemed hollow and sunken in from fatigue, made worse by wide cheekbones that jutted out in an almost skeletal fashion. And of course, neither Johnny nor Sonya felt comfortable mentioning how much smaller Raiden looked now.

They stood in silence for a minute or two, broken only by Johnny crossing his arms, causing the silk of his bath robe to fold and crinkle audibly. Again by his attentive expression, Sonya felt he was waiting for her to initiate something. She paused and looked back at Raiden. A thought occurred to her, and quickly she put a hand in front of Raiden's nose to check for breath of some sort. Nervous when she thought she didn't feel anything, she relaxed when a small brush of air hit the back of her hand. She stood back up and nodded towards Johnny, speaking quietly.

"Turn the light on."

Johnny immediately drew the string on the lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. The light bulb, however, from months or possibly even a year of little use, emitted a very weak light that barely made it through the shade, but in a way it was probably better. Except for the fact that it revealed Raiden had grown much paler.

The two of them stood awkwardly for another moment, Johnny glancing at Sonya nervously. She, too, was slightly unnerved; there was no plan for what was supposed to happen next.

"Let's just go," Johnny whispered, turning to make his way to the door. When he looked to see if Sonya would follow, though, he found her quietly trying to pull up an old chair from the corner of the room, not hovering over Raiden, but close enough to his side that she could keep a good eye on him.

Johnny watched her and would have probably done the same if there were another chair available. Instead, just standing near the doorway, he paused and tried to think of what to say next.

"What are we supposed to do now?" he asked, still talking at a low level.

Sonya looked at Raiden for a moment before answering. Finally she shrugged and looked back at Johnny. The light from the lamp illuminated half of her face, almost concealing her expression but for her resigned gaze.

"We wait."

Seeming a bit unsatisfied with the fact that that was probably the best answer he was going to get, Johnny lightly tapped the edge of the door frame with his fist before heading out to prepare something for when (…_if_) Raiden woke up.

* * *

_He can sense, but not so much see, a grey light all around him. He feels he is alone, but he does not panic. An indefinite amount of time has passed, and he is powerless to change his environment._

_Then a voice finds its way to him, echoing at first, with distinct words coming out a second later, startling him._

"_There is still an opportunity, Raiden."_

_He tries to act, tries to respond, but he can't remember how to make words. He can only listen to whoever it is that is addressing him._

"_You can still seize it while you have the chance. You are already at an advantage; your memory was not wiped in the transition to your current state."_

_Suddenly he realizes the voice is familiar; it is one of the last things he heard before he slipped out of consciousness. And now he can't reply. No one or anything has shown up; only a voice is keeping him company in this lonely room of grey._

"_You have resources. You have allies. They will not let you down. But _you_ will let _them_ down if you do not fight your way out of this."_

_He finally registers the voice as belonging to the god that had been appointed to his former position. He wants to feel angry, but also knows that he must listen to what the stranger has to say._

_As if reading his mind, the other one says, "You have one more chance, Raiden. It is up to you to take it."_

…Yes. _The word finally pops into his head, but he isn't sure the new Protector can hear it._

"_It is not over, Raiden."_

_Just as he feels he can finally state something coherent, he can also sense everything start to slip away._

"_Good-bye."_

_Just like that, the other is gone. The grey dissolves at a more rapid pace now._

_He can start _to smell tea…

* * *

The room was quiet. Sonya had not moved for the last hour, and on more than one occasion began to doze off before catching herself and jerking her head back upright. But sleep was a tricky foe to dodge, and soon her head was hanging again, her jaw slightly open, which was why she didn't initially see Raiden's eyes begin to flutter open.

His lids were still heavy with sleep, and he could only stare at the ceiling with eyes half open for another minute. He didn't even realize there was someone else in the room until he unintentionally let out a soft groan that snapped Sonya out of her tired stupor. Initially, she was too shocked and tired herself to see him clearly, but as her senses came back to her she could see his eyes in their half open state and his lips parted slightly. She tried not to move too quickly so as not to startle him, but in her excitement she placed a hand on the comforter where his arm rested, resulting in another small gasp from the one in the bed.

"Raiden?" she asked eagerly, almost forgetting to keep her voice low. As his strength and cognition returned to him slowly, Raiden was able to move his eyes in her direction. Both were instantly slightly surprised to see the other, Raiden because Sonya had a bandage on her cheek and shoulder, and Sonya because Raiden's eyes had changed to an icy, drained blue, which looked strange with his vaguely Japanese features. But she did not dwell on it.

"You hear me?" she asked for confirmation, surprising herself when she instinctively put a hand to his cheek to check for temperature, an unusually nurturing gesture coming from her. He was a bit hot, but that was probably just from being under the sheets for so long. Raiden didn't seem to notice, however. He just tried to move his head in what he hoped looked like a nod and shifted his gaze back to the ceiling.

"Just stay there," Sonya instructed, before mentally berating herself for saying it as though Raiden would be up and walking around like nothing was wrong. "Johnny'll be here in…"

"Party over here!" came the voice from the hallway that was as obnoxious as a whisper could get right before it could no longer be considered a whisper. Pushing the door with his backside as he entered the room, Johnny came in holding a tray with a bowl of soup and cup of tea. He looked like he was going to say something else when he turned around, only to be cut off by the look on Sonya's face. She held up a finger to her lips and stared at him intensely before redirecting her gaze to Raiden. Johnny looked at their friend's face, and with wide eyes as he realized Raiden had managed to wake up, he quickly placed the tray on the nightstand in order to get a better look.

"Holy crap!"

He observed Raiden for a moment before the latter managed to return his gaze, to which Johnny finally stated, "Hey, Ray. How's it going?"

The slightest hint of a smirk emerged on Raiden's face, much to Sonya and Johnny's relief.

"Gotcha something."

Johnny reached over to the tray and picked up the cup of tea. He waited as Sonya attempted to help Raiden sit a bit more upright, careful not to move him too quickly, his energy still low. But when Johnny tried handing Raiden the cup, the latter (much to their surprise) jerked his head to his side as an indication the drink was not welcome.

"It's too strong," Sonya explained. "Just get him some water."

Johnny seemed a bit offended that his gesture had been refused, but tried to look understanding as he placed the cup back on the tray and carried it back out to the kitchen. When he came back with the water, he stood on standby as Sonya gradually tried to slip some of it to Raiden. Still unable to speak, Raiden gesticulated that he wished to hold the cup himself. As he took the drink, hands shaking, Johnny and Sonya waited in case some of the water spilled. But their friend managed to down half of the cup without a problem.

Johnny placed the cup on the nightstand for him as Sonya helped him move back down.

"Are you gonna be alright for the night?" she asked with a concerned expression, pushing stray silver hairs away from his face.

Raiden nodded in response, his lids already drooping with weariness.

"Well," Sonya continued. "If you need anything, we'll be here. Get some rest. We'll talk in the morning."

With that she and Johnny made their way for the door, leaving the lamp on and checking back one last time before exiting. Raiden had already succumbed to his fatigue, now in a deep sleep but breathing much more evenly than before.

The lock clicked softly as Johnny slowly pulled the door closed. With Raiden okay for now, he looked to Sonya to ask about their next concern.

"…So, where're you gonna sleep?"

Even in her drowsy state, she found the question peculiar enough to raise an eyebrow inquisitively.

"What's my option?"

Johnny rubbed his chin and onto his face crept his trademark know-it-all smirk.

"You can take my room if you want."

Sonya gave him a snooty look, probably thinking he was trying to be funny.

"Where does that leave you?" she asked.

"I'll manage."

"Don't bother," she retorted, looking back to the living room. "I'll take the couch."

He knew she'd have taken the floor, if she had to. Johnny smirked again as he realized even under stress she was still willing to put up the tough-guy army routine. Though he didn't find a point in arguing over something like it this late.

He put his hands up in mock resignation and stepped around her. "Fine," he stated. "Have it your way."

As he walked off to his room, she made her way to the couch and crashed face first into the upholstery. She was starting to doze off when she heard footsteps coming back from the hallway, but before she could pick herself up she felt a bundle of fabric, which she soon realized was a comforter, being tossed onto her like she wasn't even there.

She looked up to find Johnny smiling down on her from the ground above the recess in the floor in which the living room was situated.

"Good night, lieutenant," he chided, giving her a mock salute as he turned to go back to his room. Fuming, Sonya fumbled with the sheet until she rested on her back and had it comfortably over most of her body. Without realizing it, she smiled as she snuggled into the soft designer sofa.

And then she frowned. Because as much as she hated to admit it, the couch was still a hell of a lot more comfortable than anything she'd had to deal with in the army.


	4. Chapter 4

Flames licked quietly at the ground, in the same way they had for eternity. The pillars of corpses that lined the path continued to writh in agony as the souls of the fallen continued in their futile struggle to release themselves from hell's grasp.

But to the man strolling through, vanquishing embers under his feet with every step he took, the sight had been witnessed a thousand times before. The figure with white skin and red tattoos sauntered his way through the Netherrealm landscape without a hint of regard to the scenery around him.

He came to a pause in the middle of the path. Smiling, he raised a hand to summon a portal. As one formed in front of him, a swirling mass of purple energy that hissed and crackled at the edges began to grow. The bodies in the pillars robotically stretched out and tried to reach for the only visible exit, completely immune to the realization that their attempts were in vain.

Quan Chi waited for the portal to safely finish forming before walking through. Within seconds he found himself in the old emperor's throne room, which was empty and had been so ever since news of Shao Kahn's defeat. Without Kahn, Sindel, or Shang Tsung to keep them in line, many of the palace servants had made a break for it, fleeing to their old homes. From what Quan Chi had understood, Mileena was the last person who was meant to hold control, but she was prone to frequent vanishing spells that lasted for days at a time. Rumors circulating around what was left of the imperial staff hinted that she spent much of this time "strategizing" with Baraka. Whatever the case, Quan Chi paid it little mind. He had much more pressing matters on his hands.

And they would be coming to fruition right about... now.

A large, disembodied image of a head began to materialize from thin air. Quan Chi smirked as he recognized his red-haired partner with whom this meeting had been arranged.

"I assume all is well, Quan Chi?" Shinnok inquired politely, though not without an ever-present, mocking undertone.

Quan Chi continued to smile knowingly, respectfully bowing before the fallen Elder god before continuing.

"Even better than we could have ever hoped to imagine, my lord," Chi responded. "Your prophecy about the Thunder God has indeed come true."

With that, Shinnok looked down approvingly at his cohort. "Of course it has," he bellowed in a self-important manner. "For once, it seems the Elder gods have done something right. You do, however, know what this means, Quan Chi?"

Bowing his head again in deference, Chi responded with another grin.

"Which reminds me, my liege," he added, taking off the artifact which hung on his belt and holding it up for Shinnok to view. "I have brought what you have requested."

Seeing his amulet for the first time in many years, a wicked glint appeared in Shinnok's eye. He gave another menacing grin and nodded in approval.

"Well done, Quan Chi," he replied. "I trust that you will keep it safe until we can make good use of it."

Pausing, Quan Chi gave his superior an odd look.

"That was actually what I came here to discuss, Lord Shinnok," he answered, almost a bit uneasily. Shinnok, not a fan of anything that could throw a monkey wrench into his carefully devised plan, raised an eyebrow threateningly. Quan Chi rushed to explain.

"With all the preparations I myself will be making to carry out your plan, perhaps I am not the one best suited to keep an eye on your amulet for the time being."

Shinnok continued to look at him impatiently. Quan Chi knew he was hoping he had not made a mistake in trusting the sorceror and was already contemplating a replacement. Knowing this, he continued to explain himself.

"Instead, I have an accomplice that would be willing to guard your amulet. He would protect it with his life."

"Have you betrayed our plan to this man, Quan Chi?" Shinnok barked angrily, expecting clarification.

Immediately realizing he had used the wrong words, Quan Chi scrambled to correct himself.

"Of course not!" he denied quickly. "No one has any knowledge of this but us two. I am just saying that there is someone with whom I have worked out a bargain in order to gain his cooperation. He knows not of what would be carried out, but he is willing to work with us for his own benefit."

With this Shinnok seemed to rethink his doubts.

"Who is it?" he demanded.

Faithful that he had regained his partner's trust, Quan Chi put his finger to his lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle that rang through the empty palace halls.

"Reptile!"

Within moments a distortion in the air at the doors to the throne room materialized into the familiar lizard-like warrior. He walked over to where Quan Chi was standing, hissing but kneeling in anticipation for his assignment.

"Are you ready for your first task?" Quan Chi asked. The reptilian ninja nodded wordlessly.

"Keep this," Quan Chi instructed, handing him the amulet. As his companion inspected the shiny artifact, Quan Chi continued.

"I trust that you will keep it in safe hands."

Still a bit distracted by the appearance of the jewel (as most Zaterrans tended to be; polished, glimmering objects had that sort of effect on them), Reptile snapped his head up after acknowledging he had been addressed and bowed as a sign that he understood his objective.

"Very well, then," Quan Chi stated, satisfied. "You are free to go."

Reptile nodded one more time and vanished with a hiss.

Quan Chi turned around to face Shinnok once again, glad to see that his friend was obviously pleased with his foresight.

"I commend you, Quan Chi," Shinnok said. "I have not given you as much credit as you deserve."

"All in due time, my lord," Quan Chi retorted, bowing.

Giving one last look of approval, the vision of Shinnok's floating head dissipated from the throne room, leaving Quan Chi to his own devices.

As soon as Shinnok vanished, the sorcered sneered calculatingly. Luckily, Shinnok had been oblivious to the fact that the amulet he so treasured had not truly left the room with Reptile.

Quan Chi patted the pocket on hip assuringly as he turned to make his exit from the throne room.


	5. Chapter 5

Outside the faintest traces of daylight were beginning to break from behind the treetops. Of course, it was still too early for most of the city of Venice to be up and about, but in the Cage residence, the day had already gotten a head start.

The first thing Sonya had heard when she woke up was the distant sizzling of whatever Johnny had decided to cook up that morning. After she had convinced herself to get off of the ridiculously comfortable couch that she had ended up burrowing herself into last night, she managed to drag herself into the kitchen and claim some of the stuffed omelet Johnny had prepared.

As she sat at the table, sipping coffee, she watched her friend ravenously devour his portion of the omelet, along with some bacon strips, sausage links, and a strange drink that she guessed was probably also ridiculously high in protein. Sonya really didn't want to sound rude about the way Johnny was feasting like a pig in front of her, but then she remembered that with Johnny, being polite was never truly on her list of priorities.

"There's this new thing out now," she commented, continuing to drink from her mug. "It's called chewing."

Johnny paused right as he was about to inhale another chunk of omelet and eyed her in an irritated manner. He chewed a bit more slowly after her comment, however, and seemed to be over it.

"Hey," he replied, giving Sonya a full view of the masticated egg that filled his mouth, much to her chagrin. "Big boys like me gotta eat. I haven't worked out in over... well, however long we were in the tournament."

"You're going to work out?" Sonya replied, looking at Johnny's bandaged right hand, broken since he had had to punch in the window to his trailer to get the pass. But it didn't seem to faze him as he shrugged and downed half of the protein shake in one shot. _Guess he's just breaking in old habits,_ Sonya thought, almost admiring him, in a way.

On the other hand, she didn't seem to have much of an appetite (for not-so-shocking reasons). Still, there was a lot of food on the table, including some toast that Johnny didn't look too intent on stuffing into his face at the moment.

"Well," she said as she put down the finished coffee cup and began to pile slices and a variety of jams onto a spare plate. "Good luck with that."

Pouring orange juice into a cup, she picked up the small breakfast and headed out of the kitchen, earning a puzzled look from Johnny.

"Hey," he barked, mouth still full. "Where're you...?"

Sonya turned around and shot him a look that instructed him to keep his voice down.

"Oh," Johnny said quietly, after it clicked that the meal was for their guest. He nodded and went back to his breakfast as Sonya made her way to Raiden's room.

* * *

Sonya was careful to tread quietly as she pushed the door to the room open. Immediately she went over to see how her friend was doing. He was still asleep, but at some point in the night it looked like he had rolled over onto his side, which she guessed was a good sign; tossing and turning had to better than… the alternative.

She mulled over taking his temperature again, but since he didn't seem to be shivering or sweating, and for the first time looked like he was sleeping normally, she decided against it and simply set the plate and cup down on the nightstand, figuring he would take it when he woke up. With that, she took one last glance at her silver-haired friend before she walked out of the room.

* * *

By the time Sonya had returned to the kitchen she found to her surprise that everything had been cleaned up from the table and stacked neatly in the sink, with Johnny nowhere to be found. She strolled around the house a little, trying to familiarize herself with the layout, when she passed through one hallway in particular that seemed to have music pulsing through it. She approached one door that seemed to be the source.

Once she opened it, a blast of pounding house music came barreling out. She deduced that this had to be the weight room, seeing as Johnny was jumping rope on the other side, near the stereo.

Furious, she dashed over and grabbed part of the rope while it was still in mid-air, alerting Johnny to her presence.

"Hey!" he protested as she shut the music off, abruptly.

"Are you crazy?" Sonya snapped, yanking the jump rope out of his hands altogether. "Not only is Raiden still sleeping, but it's _seven in the morning_ and you're blasting crappy techno so the whole city can hear? Do you even _know_ the definition of 'subtle'?"

A bit annoyed, Johnny grabbed the jump rope back and retorted, "Sublety's never been one of my strong points. It's not what I'm paid for."

Johnny was about to begin his jump rope routine again, but quickly realized it was futile, as he had lost count when Sonya barged in. The latter observed the weight room quickly, noticing the barbell rack, bench press, and treadmill, among other exercise equipment. It was like Johnny owned a whole damn gym for himself, she noted sourly.

Sonya snapped her attention back to her acquaintance, who had thrown down the jump rope and was now making his way over to the chin-up bar installed in the sliding glass doors that opened up to an impressive view of the city, upon which sunlight was beginning to creep.

As he grabbed onto the bar, Johnny looked back and saw Sonya already on the floor, starting effortlessly on a set of crunches.

He didn't even bother pulling himself up before he told her, "There's a machine for that over there."

He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the appropriate contraption, but Sonya completely disregarded his advice.

"I don't need a damn machine," she growled, grunting each subsequent time she pulled herself up. "I've been doing this… the old-fashioned way for years… and it hasn't failed me… yet."

Johnny bristled indignantly. He hadn't blown fifteen-hundred dollars on the _Ab-Aid 2000_ for it to be casually dismissed in such a manner.

When Sonya pulled herself up again, she could see Johnny standing at her feet, looking down at her.

"What?" she asked lamely, putting her set on hold.

"You like doing things the old-fashioned way, huh?" he inquired back, smiling.

Sonya squinted at him, silently demanding he get to the point.

"You and me. First one to reach fifty wins. Now."

Johnny should have gotten the hint when her eyes lit up, but he had already positioned himself on the ground next to her.

"You're on."

* * *

Light snuck in from behind the centuries-old Ming era screen partition as the day continued to advance. A sliver poked out from the top and slowly moved across the rest of the room as the sun followed its routine path, creeping along the walls until the light hit the bed. Minutes later it was on the bed's inhabitant's torso, and soon it was up to his neck.

When the light rested directly on his eyes, he finally sensed a change in his surroundings and stirred himself awake. He cracked his eyes open and quickly tried to shield them from the first catch of normal light they had experienced in days, an effort which took much more energy out of him than it should.

Raiden tossed onto his back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, watching the streak of sunbeam split the shadows in two. He was finally able to take in his surroundings completely; the room contained a veritable gallery of mismatched Asian paraphernalia, of all which he could recognize and place. A Japanese silk screen and the aforementioned Chinese one rested on two different sides of the room, a Han dynasty silk robe hung on a wall, and a rack of _tachi_ was displayed proudly on the side of the room opposite the bed, in front of a giant tapestry with a yin-and-yang motif. Whoever the collector was obviously wasn't too picky about details like culture or time period, preferring to display the artifacts for their novelty value.

After noting his environment, Raiden attempted to pick himself up. Realizing quickly that he simply did not have the energy to sit upright, he settled for propping himself on his left elbow. He soon noticed the toast and drink that had been left for him on the nightstand.

He didn't know what instinct came over him and instructed him to snatch the toast and scarf it down, or from where the energy to do so had appeared. He had never been so desperate for food before; sure, he knew what some things tasted like, but it was never like he had actually _needed_ nourishment the way mortals did. Soon afterwards he grabbed the orange juice and chugged that down as well, gagging on the liquid's overt tanginess and accidentally splattering some on the bed sheets in the process.

Putting the empty glass back on the nightstand, Raiden ran his free hand through his hair weakly, unsuccessfully trying to push dangling strands out of the way. Worry was beginning to displace fatigue; what was he supposed to do now?

Still groggy, he noticed that the door to the room had been left cracked slightly open. He wondered if he should attempt to push himself out of bed, or if it would be better to wait for someone to show up. The latter option seemed less viable as he thought about it, seeing as he'd probably already kept Johnny and Sonya waiting enough already.

With a new small surge of energy from the food and drink, Raiden tried pushing himself up all of the way and swung his legs over the side of the bed. So far, so good.

Slightly fearful, but still determined, Raiden managed to stand up on his feet. For a second, the long postponed change in his center of gravity almost sent him lurching forward, but he caught himself on the nightstand and leaned over to catch his second wind.

Feeling his sense of balance return to him prompted Raiden to go out the door.

* * *

"You can do it, Cage! Come on!"

The lieutenant barked at her competitor, who was now struggling not to collapse in a heap right in front of her. And while a smug smirk may have been creeping onto Sonya's face as she harassed her friend, Johnny was significantly less amused.

"You're telling me you can't take a little sweat and toil?" she continued to shout, gleefully watching Johnny's arms start to wobble while her own were perfectly stable. "Betcha one of your machines doesn't give you this much of a wring-out, huh?"

Johnny gave up trying to hide the fact that he was now panting like a Siberian husky locked in a greenhouse.

"We've only done seventy, soldier!" Sonya pointed out loudly, forgetting the indoor voice rule she herself had instated.

"My arms!" Johnny only barely managed to sputter out, a plea that fell on deaf ears. Appearing like he would hit the ground if he lowered himself one more time, she decided to add insult to injury and threw her left arm behind her back.

"How about you give one a break, then?" she taunted. "Is that better?"

_Is this chick human? ! ?_ was the sentiment that ran through Johnny's head right before he crumpled onto the floor in defeat.

Sonya took the opportunity to chuckle at her compatriot's predicament, but the moment was short-lived when she caught sight of someone standing at the door to the weight room.

"Raiden!" she gasped. It was enough to snap Johnny out of his dazed stupor. They both saw their haggard ally leaning against the door frame for support, with a weary expression on his face, looking back at the two of them confusedly. They both rushed to help him, picking him up in much the same way they had in order to bring him to Johnny's house in the first place. This time, however, Raiden stopped them with one hand, apparently wishing to support himself.

"Are you doing better?" Johnny asked. Raiden only nodded in response, causing Johnny and Sonya to give each other looks.

"Come on," Sonya urged, pushing Raiden slightly. "Let's get you back to your room."

"No," Raiden said quietly, but it was still enough to make both of them stop upon hearing the utterance of his first word since… the incident.

Sonya disregarded it.

"Let's go," she commanded. "We'll talk about this later."

Allowing him to walk by himself, but trailing closely, Johnny and Sonya followed the former thunder deity back to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

Raiden continued to sip quietly from the glass of water he had been given. Although he had been forced back into his bed by Sonya, he could sit up now and enjoy the proper breakfast the two had prepared for him, which included cereal and some fruit (although they had been careful to avoid citrus, to which for some inexplicable reason he had developed some kind of aversion).

Still, even though they had shown him great hospitality, Raiden wore a somber expression on his face. Now that he was awake, he had time to ponder over his situation. What would he do now? What _could_ he do?

He let out a sigh just as Johnny came walking in.

"Rayman," Johnny greeted him, throwing some magazines onto the comforter. Picking one up, Raiden could see one had a bikini-clad model on the cover, another had a luxury sports car, and yet another had a bikini-clad model on a luxury sports car.

"Just thought you'd want something to flip through," Johnny explained as he took a seat next to the bed and set the bulky laptop he had carried in on his lap. Raiden noted the date on the magazine covers; the months varied, but all displayed 1992 as their year of publishing.

When Johnny looked back at him, evidently he thought Raiden had been inspecting the content on the covers. He flashed Raiden a smile, and the latter, not wanting to admit that he didn't think this was the kind of material he would be too interested in reading, smiled back tightly and set the magazine down.

In the time it took for Johnny's laptop to boot up, Sonya entered the room. Her expression was hard to read, but she sat down at the foot of the bed and tried to appear non-confrontational.

"Feeling better?" she asked bluntly. Johnny and Raiden exchanged looks briefly before Raiden nodded and Johnny turned his attention back to the screen. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air for a moment.

Sonya, either fortunately or unfortunately, was not one to beat around the bush.

"What happened?" she demanded suddenly, startling Johnny, who looked back to Raiden for his reaction. The former thunder god, however, simply shrugged and stared down into his bowl blankly.

"You can't tell us anything?" she continued to prod, visibly making Johnny more uncomfortable. Raiden now looked at her from under heavy, cloud-colored eyes. She continued to stare him down right back.

Finally Raiden spoke.

"I have been replaced," he replied, just as bluntly. "Fujin is now Earthrealm's protector. I am powerless."

The simple explanation weighed heavily for a few more seconds. Johnny slightly feared for what Sonya would contest to that, and considered moving away from any potential conflict that could arise. However, Sonya's expression finally began to soften as her friend's distress became more evident and her sympathy for him resurfaced.

"...Well," she responded, distractedly twiddling a loose thread on the edge of one of the blankets. "Is there anything we can do now?"

Raiden was looking away, not bothering to answer the question.

"Raiden?"

"Sonya," Johnny interjected quietly after having been uncharacteristically quiet for so long, leaning over to keep Raiden partially out of earshot. "Ease up on the guy; he just had his god license revoked."

"Shut up," she snapped, turning her attention back to Raiden.

Still no answer.

"Is there a plan?" she asked.

"Plan?" Johnny cut in. "Shouldn't the plan be to just stay alive, at this point? We don't know what's gonna happen..."

"I wasn't asking you," Sonya cut him off abruptly. Unexpectedly, Raiden spoke on Johnny's behalf.

"He is right," he stated, in turn silencing Sonya. "There is no plan. I do not know what the Elder Gods wish for me to do, if they want me to do anything."

Incensed with the futility of his answer, Sonya stammered out, "There has to be something. They wouldn't just leave you like this..."

"They would," Raiden interrupted her. Sonya was clearly upset at this point by how many times the others continued to stop her in mid-sentence. "They just want me out of the way so I will not cause any more damage than I have already."

Fear that she had struck a nerve prompted Sonya to backpedal on her words quickly.

"No, Raiden," she spat out quickly. "I didn't mean..."

"It is true!" Raiden almost shouted back at her. His raised voice effectively silenced all three of them in an instant. "What do you want me to do, Sonya?" he demanded. "Build an army?"

In the silence that followed, Raiden hung his head weakly.

"Too much has fallen apart in my hands."

Sonya looked at Johnny desperately, hoping her friend would be able to help her stop Raiden's self-disparaging speech before they wouldn't be able to dispute it. But Johnny seemed to be at a total loss.

"I am responsible for so many deaths that would never have happened in the first place..." he continued before Johnny suddenly found words again.

"That's not true!" he cut in, holding up one finger in protest. Raiden snapped out of his funk for a second to give Johnny a strange look.

"On the bridge? Remember?" Johnny prodded, looking to console his now bewildered ally. "If it hadn't been for you, who knows what that Mutaru guy or whatever would have done? Huh?"

Johnny looked at both of them, hoping for approval from Sonya and a more positive reaction from Raiden. Unfortunately, he elicited no response from either, and sunk back into his seat in defeat.

The three of them were left with nothing to say. Sonya's eyes were downcast, reflecting her dismay that they could not find a solution to their predicament.

"So... that's it?" she murmured, still looking down. "We just give up?"

Raiden couldn't bring himself to look at either of them. He didn't feel the need to communicate to them his concern, but in reality he was furious at himself for being completely helpless in a situation like this.

"We're not giving up," Johnny grumbled, focused on the computer screen. "We just have to give ourselves a little more time to think of something. In the meantime, we should probably just lay low."

He turned the laptop around so Raiden and Sonya could read the monitor. The home page of his browser displayed the news of the day, with the destruction in several major cities across the globe taking the headlines. Sure enough, the battered aftermath of Los Angeles was the picture accompanying the story.

Sonya's expression fell along with her confidence. She didn't want to be holed up in this house forever, but at the moment it didn't seem like they had many other options.

"Fine," she spat, picking herself up off of the bed and heading for the door without another word, slamming it a little bit too forcefully to leave Johnny and Raiden comfortable.

Visibly exhausted by the exchange, Johnny looked to Raiden for comment. His friend, however, didn't look too intent on furthering the conversation. Although he hadn't meant to let Raiden see him in distress, Johnny couldn't help but put his head in his hands.

Raiden looked at him woefully. He felt even more remorse for putting his comrade through all of this. Desperate not to drag everyone else down with him more than he already had, he searched around the room for something that would trigger a conversation.

"It is... nice how you have set the place up."

Johnny lifted his head up to look at his friend awkwardly for a second. When he realized what Raiden was referring to, however, it was amazing how quickly his mood was lifted (Raiden only hoped he wasn't putting it on for his sake, although he seemed genuine).

"Oh, yeah," Johnny said, walking over to the Japanese partition. "Just stuff I've collected from publicity tours."

He pushed the screen aside, revealing an antique chest drawer Raiden had not realized had been there.

"Old things from tournaments," Johnny explained as he pulled the top drawer open. Raiden saw him rummage through what sounded like metal, presumably trophies, before Johnny exclaimed "A ha!" and pulled a medium-sized glass case out, blowing the dust off of the surface. He turned around and held it up for Raiden to see.

"I won this in my first tournament when I was seventeen," Johnny divulged proudly, displaying the blue robe that had been placed inside so the logo of two intertwining dragons on the back was showing prominently.

"…Wow," Raiden said with as much enthusiasm as he could force, trying to look impressed. Johnny shrugged.

"Yeah, it kinda just sits here and collects dust now," he said, observing it quietly one more time before beginning to put it back in its storage place.

"Why do you not display it?" Raiden asked out of slight curiosity, since Johnny had another one hanging on the wall next to it and another one outside in the hallway.

"Eh," Johnny replied, sneering a little. "It's crushed velvet. Not really my thing to have hanging around."

There was another silence as Johnny slid the drawer closed. Brushing excess dust off of his pants, he looked around at the room one last time.

"Well," Johnny said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "If you need anything, holler."

The two exchanged a brief set of smiles before Johnny exited the room. Alone at last, Raiden leaned forward, sighed, and rubbed his chin pensively. He stared at the wall as he contemplated what he was going to do next. One thought in particular continued to eat at him.

…_What does he mean, there's still an opportunity?..._

* * *

**I sometimes feel this would flow so much more smoothly if it were written like a screenplay, but you make do with what you have. **

**Feedback of any kind is greatly appreciated. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't much enjoy writing back and forth between plotlines (if you look up "Two Lines, No Waiting" on TvTropes, then you'll know what I mean); I feel it's a format best left to visual works, but since I'm not an animator or director, this'll have to do. O_o Hopefully I'm juggling well enough between the two…**

* * *

Quan Chi looked out beyond the Edenian landscape from the spire of one of the palace towers. He marveled at the remnants of the destruction the world had had to face during the invasion. He smiled coyly to himself, hoping that if things played out according to plan, soon Earthrealm would look similar.

They had only taken a few preventative measures, of course. Secured alliances, rallied support, acquired insurance in case anything went awry. But all of their preparation would now lead them to take the first few steps towards their goal. Shinnok would have his "rightful" status returned and revenge on the Elder Gods who had turned against him, and in return for his cooperation Quan Chi would have innumerable souls at his disposal. It really was a win-win.

Plus, Quan Chi could really get used to this view.

Placing his hands on the banister, Quan Chi pondered on the next step Shinnok had ordered him to take. Like Shang Tsung before him, Quan Chi was supposed to offer another chance at glory for Earthrealm; a tournament that, if won by Earthrealm, would mean the end of all attempts to invade by Outworld (or, this time around, Netherrealm).

At first, Quan Chi had his doubts with Shinnok. He recalled an Earthrealm colloquialism: "Madness is doing the same thing and expecting a different result."

But it was Shinnok who reminded him that this time, Earthrealm's defenses were severely weakened, and should Fujin reject the offer on its behalf, it was less than likely it would survive the retaliating invasion.

And so Quan Chi had agreed to the assignment. It wasn't like it would run significant interference with his own plans; the foolish lizard might as well have been running around with a papier-mâché trinket, and Quan Chi's back-up was resting safe and soundly right in his pocket.

* * *

**Dun dun dunnnnnn! *waves fingers ominously* **

**Yeah, it's really short. Just filler for the second plotline.**


	8. Chapter 8

Raiden looked out the sliding glass doors in Johnny's kitchen, silently taking in the view of the city bathed in sunlight. However, he himself was careful to sit out of the light's range, preferring the low-lit shade of Johnny's island counter. He could hear the TV playing in the other room, far away enough from earshot not to interfere with his thoughts.

Raiden had not been in an amicable mood ever since his conversation with Sonya. He looked dejected, having sunk his head into his arms as he stared emptily out to the horizon. He had had no luck in deciphering Fujin's cryptic message.

Johnny came in, the towel he had used to soak up the sweat from Sonya's hellish workout routine still resting on his shoulders. He noticed Raiden sitting at the table. True, Johnny had tried to give him some alone time when he had seen Raiden sitting there the first time around, but it had been thirty minutes and it didn't look like Raiden had moved. It didn't strike Johnny as healthy.

"Ay!" he shouted in his trademark boisterous manner. All he earned was a slow shift in Raiden's gaze to where he was standing.

Johnny moved over to the island counter, looking unsure. He drummed his fingers pensively as Raiden looked at him in a way that lethargically demanded why he needed his attention so badly.

Inspiration came to Johnny in a flash. He pulled over the blender and began searching for something to toss in.

"You, my friend," Johnny stated, still looking around for something that could ostensibly be put into a smoothie, "need the Cage special."

Again by Raiden's hollow stare Johnny knew he wanted an explanation, but the actor continued on his merry way. Within five minutes a few bananas had been chopped up and thrown into the blender, along with some mangoes and a spare pear that had been lying around.

Johnny twiddled an invisible mustache.

"_Bon' appétit!_" he exclaimed before dramatically sweeping his hand in the air and pressing the "blend" feature (which, knowing Johnny, on this particular model probably read "decimate"). Anticlimactically, the room was filled with silence. The butchered fruit rested unblended in the device's basin.

Raiden was still staring at Johnny. Uncomfortable, the latter tried pressing the button again, wondering if it had gotten stuck. There was still no response from the blender.

Johnny checked the outlet. It was plugged in, so he didn't see what the problem was. Suddenly it clicked; this particular outlet was only functional when the proper switch at the entrance to the kitchen was flipped on.

"Oh!" Johnny said, slapping the countertop and rushing over to the switch plate. Raiden, suddenly curious as to why his friend had to leave so quickly, reached over and pulled the cord above the counter. He noticed a break in the cord's insulation; wires of various colors were exposed, and one thin little blue filament was severed. Raiden tapped it out of boredom and tried to see if it was possible to unite the two strands together.

Johnny, having moved out of Raiden's view, was inspecting the plate of light switches, trying to remember which one operated the circuit he needed. He flipped on the one that turned on the kitchen light so he could see better. Picking the one second to the right, he casually flipped the switch, expecting to hear the whir of the blender coming back to life.

He did not expect an alarming shout from the kitchen right before everything in the house blew out.

The kitchen lights went dead, the TV blacked out, and the low drone of the A/C cut off abruptly. Panicking, Johnny dashed around the corner to check on his friend.

"…Rai-!"

He cut himself off as soon as he caught sight of Raiden at the table. Miraculously unharmed, his friend stared in amazement at the phenomenon that was happening right in front of his eyes, which had now left Johnny speechless, as well.

Familiar blue static danced across Raiden's fingers, creeping up to his elbows at their farthest stretch. He was so struck (no pun intended) by what was occurring that he had gotten up out of his seat and was standing without help for the first time. He turned his hands over and inspected them, secretly ecstatic upon feeling the familiar course of electricity running through his veins.

Johnny, too, was dumbfounded. Both were too absorbed in watching what was happening that they ignored the sound of Sonya's footsteps dashing in from upstairs.

"What the hell just happened?" she demanded, bringing herself to a halt next to Johnny, looking around to investigate the source of the disturbance. Johnny didn't even bother to explain the situation to her or gesture for her to be silent; the sight was enough explanation in itself.

Nobody said a word for another few seconds. For the first time (Sonya realized _ever_), a hint of a grin tugged at the edge of Raiden's lips as the electricity lapped around his elbows. The sight of him looking almost happy for the first time in ages came to both her and Johnny as nearly more of a shock (possible pun intended) than what was happening with the static.

Suddenly, feeling for whatever reason enough had been enough, Raiden grabbed the exposed section of the cord again. Within an instant, the electricity in the house whirred back to life; the TV blared, the A/C was back on at full blast, the lights surged back more powerfully and brightly than before, and the blender, which had been left without a top to cover the interior, came alive and briefly spewed banana-mango-pear residue into the air, which splattered onto Raiden, who ducked instinctively. It took another moment for everything to die down and return to equilibrium. The three, however, stood motionless in the kitchen, not saying a word.

Sonya didn't realize that she had clinched on to Johnny's elbow in panic; releasing her grip, she let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding and stepped forward tentatively. A now-dripping Raiden wiped a fruit chunk off of his cheek slowly, still looking in amazement at the cord that had given him a taste of his old self for a short (but sweet) second.

"Are you okay?" Sonya asked, reaching out slightly to her friend, who was still staring at the blender. Her touch stirred him out of his stupor, if only slightly.

"Uh," he quietly stammered before quickly bringing himself back down to earth. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine," he responded, swiping more proto-smoothie from his sleeve.

"Well, good," Sonya said, glancing back at Johnny, who was clinging to the edge of the wall, looking like a startled animal.

"I guess," Sonya began to try to explain, gathering her thoughts as she observed Raiden attempting to get out ground fruit from the tendrils of his hair that hung in his face, out of his ponytail. "I guess you might have lost the ability to create lightning, but somehow you can still…"

She paused, only continuing when Raiden looked at her expecting her to finish.

"…Manipulate it."

There was another uneasy pause.

"…Which is good," she tacked on, for no discernible reason. The next stillness was punctuated by the drip of smoothie from the edge of the counter, which prompted Johnny to come out and offer Raiden his towel to get rid of the last of the sickly-colored substance.

"Well, hey," Johnny said, stepping back to observe the situation. The television continued to resonate softly from the other room, going on as if nothing of significance had just occurred. "We could use some good news around here, lately."

He slapped Raiden encouragingly on the back, to which Raiden surprisingly reciprocated with a small grin right before he wiped his chin with the edge of the towel.

"I suppose so," Raiden responded softly.

Sonya looked at the mess that was now left on the counter. She didn't feel like asking what concoction Johnny had suddenly had the urge to brew, so she just supportively placed a hand on Raiden's shoulder. Now that he was standing up straight, it was obvious that even in his shrunken state, he easily stood over her and even Johnny by an inch or so.

Johnny walked over to the other side of the counter and inspected the fruit-splattered battlefield that the counter now resembled. He fished around for the blender top in the greenish glop and looked inside of the glass basin.

"I think I can still save some of it," he commented, placing the top back on correctly this time and pressing the "blend" option again. Thankfully (in Johnny's eyes, at least), the blender worked as intended.

Sonya, however, wasn't too much for sticking around and just directed Raiden and herself out of the kitchen in the hopes that Johnny would take it upon himself to clean things up.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm so sorry it's so long. :( (that's what he s-*shot*) **

**Maybe you could try to read it in morsels...**

* * *

Within the next couple of days, the mood in the house was noticeably lighter. Of course, the weight of the situation still pressed on their minds constantly, but the three (Johnny and Sonya especially) felt they could breathe a little bit more easily since that day in the kitchen. Raiden's strength seemed to be returning, to the point to where he was able to join the other two in Johnny's exercise routine one morning.

He was helping Sonya warm up with a pair of wide arm guards designed to act as more of a practice target for the opponent rather than as practical protection for fighting. Series of short, loud thumps punctuated the air at the same time that Johnny's stereo system was cranking out the same music that had been playing the day Sonya interrupted him. Johnny himself was trying to complete a set of crunches on the floor a few feet away, noticeably avoiding using most of the workout equipment this time and opting for the old-fashioned route (Sonya silently counted off a small victory).

Raiden was standing up well against his opponent. His stance was unshakeable, and he even began instructing her at some points. Sonya took the advice to heart and would hold back or strike differently when Raiden directed, hoping it would do more to help him feel better and realizing it was genuinely improving some aspects of her technique.

Johnny finished his set and dropped back to the ground, exhausted. He could hear Sonya and Raiden continuing to spar behind him. He reached for his water bottle nearby and tiredly brought it to his lips. Much to his dismay, however, the thermos had run dry.

Sighing, he picked himself up and headed for the door.

"Be right back," he called out over the music. There was no response, but Johnny liked to think it was because they just didn't hear him.

Dragging himself to the kitchen, Johnny threw the refrigerator door open and browsed for the water jug. When he picked it up, he could feel it was already half-empty. He poured some into his thermos without any concern, but once the last drop fell in he realized that that meant there was little left for his friends after this gallon was finished. There was some orange juice left, but Johnny knew that really only he and Sonya would be the ones willing to drink it, since Raiden couldn't stand citrus. And Johnny definitely wouldn't have enough water left to make tea at this point.

He looked back in the fridge and looked over whatever food was left: some potatoes, lettuce, cheese, eggs that had probably gone bad by now, and a pack of ribs. Not much to last three people another night.

Johnny stood back and pursed his lips worriedly. This meant they were inevitably going to have to go out for food soon, and while it wasn't exactly like they had to fear being attacked or something, Johnny knew it would be hard to stay under the radar.

He closed the door and headed back to the weight room, where Raiden had now ditched one of the guards and was showing Sonya more effective blocking methods. He stopped when he saw Johnny's face, causing Sonya to turn around to see what had distracted her mentor.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Johnny paused briefly before responding.

"Nothing, just thinking," he replied. "About food."

The other two gave him strange looks.

"…and how we're kinda running out."

"Running out?" Sonya demanded, taking a step towards Johnny, her mind already having jumped to the logical conclusion. "How can you be running out already?"

"Well, jeez, Sonya," Johnny defended himself. "It's not like the last time I was here I was stocking up for the nuclear winter!"

"Both of you," Raiden interjected. "Calm down. This is not a serious problem."

Johnny looked at Raiden in silent thanks before continuing.

"We can go out later tonight and look for something," he suggested. Sonya still looked irritated, but she figured there was no other solution.

"Whatever," she scoffed. "But we have to keep a good cover. Once paparazzi get a hold of pretty boy here, they'll track him like bloodhounds."

Johnny looked on in an annoyed manner as Sonya went back to her and Raiden's practice session.

* * *

Once the clock read 9:30 p.m., the trio agreed it was probably safe to go out. They would have waited longer, but as much as Sonya didn't want to admit it, she was ravenous for food after a measly lunch which had consisted of three ribs and a baked potato. Hopefully they would be able to blend with the throngs of crowds that would be brought out by the allure of L.A. night life. She suggested (or demanded, same difference) that Johnny wear a hoodie with the hood up and sunglasses the entire time they were out. At first Johnny objected, preferring not to look like a bum with a Vitamin D phobia, but one look from Sonya was enough to silence his protest. Raiden opted for a thick jacket which he hoped would help him blend in with the crowd, but Sonya didn't have the heart to tell him that it only made him look even more imposing. She figured she would just stay close by his side at all times in case anything went down.

They were in the heart of the city by ten, slipping by others on the sidewalk. Johnny was subtly sandwiched between the other two in order to stay incognito, but he couldn't help but feel that between indifferent cliques of uptight daddy's girls and drunken frat brigades on the prowl for dates, not too many people would probably notice him at this point. But he stayed silent to appease Sonya.

They reached a stoplight and found themselves alone on the corner. Sonya didn't know much about L.A., but she definitely thought night life would be much… busier than this.

"Is this what a Saturday night usually looks like around here?" she inquired. Johnny shook his head, trying to come up with an explanation.

"I guess the city's kinda been keeping things on lockdown," he explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of curfew."

_Great,_ Sonya thought as she directed her attention back to the crosswalk light. _Better make this quick._

"Where's the nearest grocery store then?" she asked. She didn't get any answer for a moment, causing her to look towards Johnny to see if he had heard her. He looked like he was staring at something, but he quickly snapped out of it. She assumed he had been going through a mental map.

"Uh," he stammered, looking around. "This way."

He turned suddenly and headed across the street left from where Sonya had thought he had been directing them. She and Raiden stumbled to keep up with him as he walked briskly down a street that seemed much less populated than the relatively bustling corner they had just abandoned.

_This tool better know what he's doing,_ Sonya thought as she ground her teeth and tried to keep up with Johnny.

* * *

After fifteen minutes of following Johnny through the damned tangle of streets that was Venice, California, Sonya fumed, waiting for an explanation.

"What the hell is taking so long?" she snapped as they rounded another corner. "Do you know how far we are from the house?"

Johnny didn't respond to her accusations. Instead, he was looking around for something, which a hunch told Sonya was not a grocery store.

"Hello?" she barked, coming up to his side. Right as she was about to tear him a new one, however, Johnny looked to his right and smiled upon finding that for which he had been searching for the last five blocks.

"Aw, yeah!" he crooned as he made his way over to a building entrance, in front of which a line for some sort of event was forming.

"Johnny!" Sonya snapped again, looking around to make sure no one had heard her call him by his name. She stomped her foot impatiently and followed him, with Raiden following her trail.

"What is this?" she asked. Soon she noticed the line was organized by a long chain of red velvet cords, the kind used to direct the flow of human traffic at major attractions. And at the head of the line was a large man who was signaling the next couple that was allowed inside, from where loud music was threatening to bring down the walls.

A bouncer.

"Oh, no," Sonya groaned in dismay, realizing where Johnny had brought them.

"A club?" she hissed furiously. "How did you even find this place?"

"I saw a poster a few blocks back," Johnny responded calmly, putting his hands up in hopes that this would achieve the same effect with Sonya. Evidently, however, he still didn't know her well enough to know that this wouldn't work.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she started to shout, losing control of her emotions. Ironically, it was now she who was drawing attention from the partygoers.

"Relax!" Johnny tried to calm her down, again to no avail.

"I thought you said the city was locking down on this stuff," Sonya argued.

"Well, yeah," Johnny responded. "But they're not gonna waste resources shutting down some random party. Besides, it's probably just that a bunch of people brought beer or something. This place hasn't been rented out by anybody for years."

"You mean this is illegal?" Raiden inquired, unwittingly pushing Sonya further to the brink of distress.

"'Illegal' is a strong word," Johnny replied. The actor hoped that a joke would take the sting off of the situation. "Let's call it 'improvised.'"

Johnny still received a disapproving look from Raiden. Much to his surprise, he almost wished he had received one from Sonya, too, if only because she was busy burying her face in her hands.

"Come on, Raiden," Johnny pried, elbowing his friend and desperately wishing the humor angle would work. "You've known us forever; if there's anything Earthrealmers know how to do, it's party."

"If there is anything Earthrealmers know how to do, it is skew their priorities," Raiden responded humorlessly, forcing Johnny to give up on his attempt to make peace. By now the three were receiving calls from the people in line, many who believed they recognized the movie star beneath the sunglasses.

"Hey!" came a shout from a man near the front of the line. "Johnny Cage?"

Sonya swore.

"I can't believe you're actually this stupid!" she complained, shoving Johnny quite harshly, resulting in a droning "ooh" from the crowd, which only served to infuriate her more.

While Johnny stumbled and shouted in protest, Raiden did his best to try and calm the both of them down.

"Hey, Cage," a female onlooker cried out coyly. "Who's your friend?"

There were murmurs from the women in line, and only after a comment about a "silver fox" flew by did the trio realize to whom they were referring. Sonya quickly ignored the whistles and wolf calls that were intended for them and continued to berate Johnny.

"You don't think I'm actually going in there, do you?" she retorted with disgust.

"Tell 'im, baby girl," someone else called out. "I like 'em feisty."

Sonya and Raiden both looked with contempt in the general direction of the call. Johnny tried to fix himself and began again.

"Look, this'll all be gone in the morning," he assured them. "Nobody'll know this was here. You don't have to come in with me if you don't want to, so here's some cash…"

He fished around in his pocket for his wallet, prompting another call from the crowd.

"I got something in my pocket for you too, sugar tits."

Nobody could have anticipated the next action that resulted from the man's crude comment. With immeasurable speed, Raiden smoothly and precisely jabbed his hand into the crowd, which in response parted, clearing the way to offer the clueless victim towards the scary Japanese man who looked like he could easily break a smaller man like him in half.

The pig cowered as Raiden towered over him, brimming with a tranquil fury that was palpable to everyone within a ten foot radius, and staring him down with icy, storm-colored eyes. Holding him by the collar, a coolly furious Raiden growled, "You have nowhere near as much to offer her as you would like to think. Don't flatter yourself."

The man continued to babble on nonsensically in fear after Johnny and Sonya managed to pry Raiden away from the crowd, from which more calls were coming from women who had enjoyed the sudden display of zeal.

"All right, everybody just calm down," Johnny said again, waiting until they were all ready to listen to each other again. "Look. They've already spotted me. I can take care of things from here. You two can take this…"

He held out a stack of about two hundred dollars in cash.

"…and go find a store somewhere down this street. I'll meet up with you later. Deal?"

Sonya ground her teeth in disapproval. She refused to meet Johnny's eyes when she finally spat out, "Fine."

She grabbed the cash, took Raiden by the arm and yanked him off in the direction Johnny had indicated.

Sighing now that he was free from his burden, Johnny turned around to greet the string of eager faces awaiting him.

"Wazzup, party people?" he shouted to an enthusiastic crowd as he was admitted entrance without having to wait in line.

* * *

Sonya walked vigorously, still furious at Johnny for pulling them into a situation like that. Who knew what would be plastered all over the front page tomorrow morning?

"Sonya!' she heard Raiden call out behind her. She snapped around and waited for her friend to catch up.

"Sorry," she grumbled, continuing to walk once Raiden was at her side.

They walked quietly for a minute, neither of them daring to acknowledge what had happened back at the club. Thinking about the attention they had drawn caused Sonya to hiss again in frustration.

"I am sorry," Raiden stated suddenly, causing Sonya to look back up at him.

"What?" Sonya said, confused.

"I'm sorry," Raiden repeated. "For what happened back there. I lost my temper."

Sonya rushed to comfort her friend.

"Oh, no, it's okay," she stated hurriedly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm mad at Johnny, not you."

Raiden said nothing and continued walking. Sonya did the same. In a few moments, though, she was laughing in spite of herself.

Raiden looked at her quizzically.

"It's nothing, I'm just…" she said, pausing to emit another chuckle. "I'm just thinking that that was such a Jax move you pulled back there."

Raiden raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" he inquired.

"Whenever somebody made a crack at me like that in the old days, Jax would be the first one to tell them to put a lid on it," Sonya recalled fondly. "Back when I first enlisted in the army. I mean, he treated me just as hard as everyone else, but when we were out, he always got kinda… I dunno… papa wolf around me."

She smirked a little.

"Jax was always kind of like the dad I never had."

She didn't notice Raiden had been slowing down to a halt as she had been speaking. Suddenly cognizant of what had happened, she stopped and looked back at her comrade.

"…Raiden?" she asked, checking to make sure her friend was okay. Raiden stared woefully at the ground as he spoke.

"I am sorry, Sonya," he said, prompting her to think, _Again?_

"If it had not been for my mistakes, Jax and the others would still be here."

Sonya's stomach plummeted. She hadn't thought about the others for days, and the memory of what had transpired the day everyone was killed…

It was too much for her to bear.

"No, Raiden," she stated, falling back to comfort her friend. "It was out of your control. You couldn't have seen that coming. None of this is your fault."

Raiden didn't respond, and Sonya knew survivor's guilt was setting in.

"Raiden!" she demanded, forcing him to look directly at her. "This isn't your fault."

While he still looked unsure, he nodded in forced agreement. Sonya knew this was probably the best response she was going to get, but for now she was fine with it.

She turned to look back around to gauge how close they were to their destination. Luckily, she thought she could spot a market of Asian goods at the next corner.

"Look!" she said, pointing to the store. "I think there's something."

She looked back to Raiden, who saw the store and shrugged.

Figuring she would do more to comfort him later, Sonya took Raiden's arm in hers and led him to the corner.


	10. Chapter 10

Sonya and Raiden were within ten feet of the door to the market when someone addressed them.

"Excuse me?"

They both looked to their left, into a small alley next to the store. A middle-aged woman with tattered clothes and a weary expression (or maybe demeanor was more appropriate) looked up at them from red-rimmed eyes. Sonya quickly deduced that she must have been homeless.

"Either one of ya got some spare change?" she asked, obviously not having seen many people walk down this road tonight.

Sonya quickly tried to think of something to say as Raiden observed the woman, and grew more frantic when he looked to her, obviously assuming she would be willing to fork over some of Johnny's cash. Unfortunately, she was trying to move them along more quickly as it was, and she tried to convince herself that now wasn't the time to play charity case. On top of that, however, she didn't know how she would explain to the woman how they couldn't have any cash yet still be able to shop. What would Sonya say when she saw her and Raiden walk out with groceries?

"I'm sorry," Sonya apologized, tugging on Raiden's arm. "Not today. We're just going inside to ask for directions."

Raiden gave her a stern look as she jerked on his arm again.

"Oh," the lady replied tiredly, in a way that indicated she had received the same response to her plea many times before. "'S'alright."

Sonya felt strange as she led Raiden into the store, even more so after she heard the lady call out "Y'all have a good evening," right before the automatic doors shut behind them. The silence offered Sonya only a brief moment of comfort before Raiden dropped her arm and addressed her.

"Why did you not give her some of the money?" Raiden asked sharply. "There would have been plenty left over."

"Raiden," Sonya tried to explain, wondering how he, as Earthrealm's former protector god, could be so naïve on a subject such as this. "You don't know what they do with the money you give them. It goes to things like drugs, more often than not. You saw her eyes."

"She could be tired," he argued, his brow furrowing.

Sonya sighed. It was getting late and she wanted to end this conversation now.

"Yeah, but… now's not the time to deal with it, Raiden. Just let it go."

He looked at her harshly for another moment. Then he too sighed in frustration before speaking again.

"I guess I never truly understood what it was really like down here in Earthrealm," was his last comment before walking off into one of the aisles. Sonya felt a pang of remorse, but she didn't feel there was anything she could say as she walked to another end of the market.

* * *

There was clamoring as security wrestled the unruly patron to the door.

"I think you've had enough, sir," the burly guard barked as he threw the movie star out onto the cement. Johnny stumbled and turned around to give the employee a piece of his mind, continuing to sway in place.

"Fut the shuk up!" he blurted out nonsensically. "I've had enough when I say I've had enough."

The security and many people still in line looked on as the drunken actor made a spectacle of himself, for once not on purpose.

"I'm ME. Johnny Cage. I can take ass and kick names and there's _nothing_ you can do about it!"

With his brilliant last words so eloquently put for the masses to look back upon for years to come, Johnny swirled around and promptly gave the sidewalk a kiss.

* * *

The cashier rang up the last of the goods, stuffing them into plastic bags and into the arms of an eager Sonya, who was ready to get out of the store and back to the house faster than she could say "NATO." Raiden carried the bulk of the items as they made their way out of the front door. Sonya was just about the relish the night breeze when she remembered something very suddenly.

"…Wait!" she cried out, stopping Raiden in time but having already been detected by the motion sensors in the door. Cautiously, she peeked outside and tried to see if she could catch sight of the homeless woman. When she saw her in the same spot as before, she caught her breath. She released it upon seeing the woman had fallen asleep.

"Let's go," she told Raiden, who gave her a puzzled look and tried to see what had caught Sonya off guard. His expression turned stony again when he saw the woman from earlier, giving Sonya a look that she knew meant would have earned a good reprimanding if it didn't hold the probability of waking the woman up. He simply followed her down the sidewalk as she paced hurriedly.

Once they were out of earshot, however, he spoke up.

"What was that?" he asked snidely, causing Sonya to shake her head in frustration.

"Not now, Raiden," she commented, focusing on the path ahead of her. "We just gotta get Johnny and go home. We'll deal with it in the morning. Got it?"

There was no response.

"Okay?"

She turned around to find that her only companion was her shadow. Raiden, on the other hand, was about twenty feet back the other way, having headed back to start a conversation with the tired woman in the alley.

Alarmed, Sonya swore again and rushed back to where he was standing.

"Raiden!" she cried softly as she came up to his side, putting on a fake smile for the homeless lady. "I'm sorry he woke you up," Sonya apologized quickly, earning a distrustful look from Raiden for interrupting him. The woman sitting down, however, evidently didn't see a problem with the situation.

"No problem, sweetie," she responded calmly. "The man just wanted to ask a few questions, is all."

Sonya looked incredulously at Raiden, wondering what trick the former thunder god was playing. Raiden, however, glared back at her and continued the conversation that he had started before her interference.

"As I was saying," he began to readdress the woman, forcing Sonya into silence. "How badly were you affected by the raids on the city?"

"Well," she started, looking pensive. "If you don't count the move from the bridge to here on the sidewalk, not too badly. I guess I had it easier than some others."

The irony in her statement earned a moment of awkward silence from both Sonya and Raiden (although the latter was more successful at hiding his discomfort). Then Raiden spoke again.

"Are you allergic to anything?" he inquired.

The woman (and Sonya) looked off-put by the question, failing to see how it was relevant to what he had just asked her. Sonya guessed she was probably wondering if the man was a loon.

"Latex," she reported bluntly. That's what he had asked, right?

"Nothing food-related, then?" Raiden said, rummaging through the bags he was holding.

The woman put two and two together.

"No."

Raiden pulled out a bag of oranges and handed them to the lady, who took them graciously, although obviously a bit stunned by the kind offer of the stranger.

"T…Thank you," she stammered slightly, setting the bag on her lap. Raiden's expression didn't change.

"Have a nice evening," he responded politely but pointedly, and he continued back on the way Sonya had originally been leading him. Sonya, slightly shocked by what had just occurred, quickly said good-night to the woman and bounded after Raiden.

He said nothing as she caught up to him. Sonya tried to think of something to say to fill the silence.

"…I'm sorry," she said. "I was wrong."

He didn't give a response, unless the quick aside glance he gave her counted. They continued to walk on back towards the club in charged silence, until Raiden spoke up one last time.

"All this time I was trying to protect you from Outworld and Shao Kahn," he stated, not looking at Sonya. "And all the while back here I could not save you from what you were doing to each other."

Sonya bit the inside of her lip and weakly trailed behind him with a heavy heart for the rest of their walk.

* * *

**Cut out some of the last chapter and stuck it here instead. For some reason I tend to write Johnny falling on his face a lot. I honestly have no idea why.**


	11. Chapter 11

_Duty is heavier than a mountain; death is lighter than a feather.  
_-Traditional Japanese proverb

* * *

After having no luck finding Johnny the night before, much to Sonya's already growing irritation, she and Raiden had taken one of the last buses back to Johnny's villa. The entire ride had been unbearably silent, with Sonya sitting next to an uncomfortably distant Raiden who had been preoccupied with looking out the window, avoiding eye contact with her. Even though she had been right next to him, the only other person on the bus, she had felt incredibly lonely.

When they had gotten off in front of the gate to the complex, Raiden didn't utter a word as Sonya punched in the code to open the front gate. He was silent the entire way back up to the house, when Sonya found the spare key behind Johnny's mailbox, and when they set the groceries on the counter, heading back to his room without a word. Feeling defeated, Sonya had grudgingly trekked upstairs, found some spare pajamas, and crashed on the couch, leaving the TV on while she slept on the off chance that Johnny would stumble in at some point.

Now it was morning, and there was still no sign of Johnny. Tired, even though she had fallen asleep fairly quickly, Sonya prepared a quick breakfast and left the appropriate condiments out. She decided she had no choice but to go out into the city herself and try to track Johnny down at this point. She feared what would occur if she was forced to go down to the police station and ask for help.

Rubbing some of the sleep from her eyes, Sonya made her way to Raiden's room and cracked the door open. Sunlight peeked familiarly out from behind the screens; at only seven in the morning, the day had only barely begun. Sonya saw Raiden still tucked in under his covers, facing away from her. She felt conflicted about waking him up, but she knew it would be worse if he woke up to an empty house. He would probably think she had abandoned him.

"Raiden?" she called out softly. She decided against walking over to the bed, preferring not to see his expression, if he had one at all right now. She received no response.

"Raiden?" she cooed again, a little bit more loudly. This time she solicited a tired groan.

"I'm going out to look for Johnny," she explained, holding on to the doorknob. "There's breakfast on the table."

No answer.

"Got that?"

Raiden muttered something unintelligible in response. Sonya assumed it was confirmation.

"All right, then," Sonya said weakly, rubbing her eyes again. "I'll see you in a few hours, then."

Again she was met with silence. Deciding not to pursue the conversation any further, she quietly closed the door and made her way to the entrance, playing with the spare key in her pocket.

Raiden lay still for a few more moments.

Then he got up.

* * *

Sonya opened the door and was met with a chilly gust of morning air. Shivering, she pondered for a moment whether or not she could tough out the weather. Besides, it would warm up in the middle of the day, wouldn't it?

Unfortunately, the argument lost by the logic that she had been through enough already and probably deserved at least a damn jacket at this point.

Sighing, Sonya shut the door and made her way back to Raiden's room to see if she could soundlessly slip in and steal the jacket he had worn the night before.

* * *

She didn't see the car pull up outside of the gate as she went back inside. A battered and hungover Johnny dragged himself out of the backseat of the cab, leaning on the door for support.

"Ay, 'mon," the taxi driver called out to him, leaning and looking out the window with concern. "Ya sure you're alright, der?"

"…Dandy," Johnny replied sarcastically with a forced smile. He silently thanked Sonya for being the one with the foresight about the sunglasses now; he probably looked like a wreck. He rummaged around in his pocket for some spare cash and handed the driver whatever he had managed to dig out.

"Keep the change," Johnny stated lethargically, making his way to the gate to punch in his house code.

"…Really?" the driver called out incredulously, for Johnny had stuffed two Benjamins (and a loose button, but that was easily forgiven) in his hand without bothering to look at it.

Johnny waved the satisfied driver away without looking back, having already stepped inside of his property.

* * *

Raiden set himself up on the floor facing the direction of the sunlight. He kneeled in _seiza_ position on a white towel he had seized the night before from one of Johnny's bathrooms, and he himself was donned in the white garb the Elder Gods had been so gracious to don him in before tossing him back into Earthrealm like week-old trash.

One of the _tachi_ swords lay perfectly aligned in front of him. Before picking it up, however, he took a minute to meditate.

He lamented silently on how futile his efforts had become; his misconstruing of one simple message had sent everything spiraling into disaster. His allies were gone, his powers were gone (to a certain degree; it wasn't like he could go running around sabotaging the city power supply for a fix), and even now his attempts to correct things had blown up in his face. He couldn't figure out what Fujin was trying to tell him, and he was stuck in a world that was painfully far from how he had envisioned it. He had no idea how his vision of things on Earthrealm had become so distorted over the years.

And now here he was; a failure at what he had believed to be his life's purpose, and a burden to those who had been his remaining shots at making things right.

Raiden took a deep breath to clear his mind. He picked up the sword soundlessly and held it perfectly horizontally for a moment. His heart fell a little more as he realized even this was a mark of his failure, being stuck with inappropriate materials for a moment like this. If the Elder Gods were watching right now, they had to be laughing at his expense.

This was his last chance to make things right.

He turned the sword around and held the tip to his stomach.

He hissed, ready to drive it into his abdomen, but the sound of the door opening right behind him stopped him in his tracks.

He couldn't turn around completely in time, but he heard Sonya's cry of "NO!" pierce the air sharply before feeling her lunge for the sword.

Luckily, when she tackled him, Raiden had accidentally moved the sword away from his stomach in shock. However, he maintained a strong hold on it, even when Sonya was hanging off of his back and grabbing for the hilt. He struggled to bring himself to his feet so he could fight her more effectively, but Sonya apparently had excellent military training for taking down opponents in this manner.

"Are you out of your fucking _mind?_" she shrieked, grunting as she swiped for the weapon again. Raiden barely managed to keep it out of reach this time.

"I thought you said you were heading out!" he shouted as he tried to shake her off, hoping he wouldn't have to resort to brute force with his friend.

"Oh, what?" Sonya snapped as she continued to reach for his weapon. "I didn't factor into your schedule?"

Raiden had fairly solid footing at this point and was prepared to throw her across the room, when suddenly Sonya landed a grab on the sword. Reacting instinctively, Raiden jabbed his elbow into her rib cage.

But he didn't see the degree to which his sword had aligned before doing so; in the confusion, it had angled backwards, and when he heard Sonya cry out weakly, he instantly knew he had made a mistake.

He whirled around and looked in horror at what he had done; Sonya, still somehow miraculously on two feet, held the large gash that had been made below her ribcage. When she pulled her hand away weakly, an enormous amount of blood was gushing out of the wound.

Sonya gave Raiden a petrified look before her knees crumpled underneath her; shouting out in protest, Raiden threw the sword on the ground and rushed to catch her before she hit the ground.

He was too busy stuffing the towel over her wound to stem the bleeding to hear someone rushing towards his door, evidently having heard the scuffle and subsequent outburst. Johnny threw the door open and gaped in terror at the scene.

"What the hell did you _do_?" he shouted at Raiden, who only looked back in alarm.

"Quickly!" he cried, ignoring Johnny's accusation. "Help her!"

Johnny forgot about his anger for a second as he rushed to Sonya's side. He took Sonya up in his arms and gasped at the severity of her injury. Raiden continued to hold the blood-soaked towel to her abdomen, however little good it did.

"Here," Raiden said, turning around to look for anything else that could help them. "I can…"

"No," Johnny cut him off abruptly. "You can't. Don't do anything."

Even under the stress of the situation, Raiden stopped to look at his friend in confusion.

"You've done enough," Johnny stated, giving Raiden a menacing glare that only served to make the latter feel even worse than he did already, which may have been the point.

"I'm taking her to the hospital," Johnny explained, turning to take Sonya out the door. "We'll probably blow our cover now, but it isn't worth having her die on our watch."

Johnny was at the door now and turned to give a helpless-looking Raiden one last admonition.

"I'm locking the house," he said. "If I find out you try anything else here while I'm gone," he warned, "I promise I'll track you down through hell and kick the shit out of you myself if I have to."

With that, he closed the door behind him with his foot, leaving Raiden behind with nothing but his own despair.

* * *

Johnny angled Sonya into the passenger seat of his Porsche, trying hard not to cause her any more pain. She was already looking drained and pale from blood loss.

He was just about to push her legs in when she grabbed his wrist, catching his attention. She looked like she was struggling as she tried to form words.

"…Don't…" she muttered weakly. "…don't… leave Raiden… alone…"

"Don't worry about that now," Johnny tried to assure her. "We'll figure it out when you're okay."

He couldn't tell whether Sonya was satisfied with the answer or if she simply didn't have the energy to respond, but he finished positioning her and shut the door, quickly running around to the driver's side so he wouldn't waste any more time getting her to the hospital.


	12. Chapter 12

Johnny paced slowly but nervously in the waiting room in the ER unit. It had been two hours since he had brought Sonya in, immediately relaying the alibi he had formulated in the car ride over; she was a stunt double in a private movie project of his, and had gotten into an accident. Johnny had said he would also be willing to cover any insurance expense on the damage, and even though he had received odd looks from the hospital staff, he felt safe in sending Sonya away in capable hands.

Now he stood impatiently in the center of the room, his hand on his chin. He brought up to himself the question of how he would deal with Raiden when he got home, if Raiden was there at all. Not like Johnny expected him to run away like a fourteen year-old girl, but then again, he hadn't expected a lot of things to happen in the last twenty four hours.

Suddenly he heard the doors to the waiting room open. He whirled his head around to see one of the surgeons that had taken care of Sonya stroll into the room with him.

"Well," the doctor lamented, taking off her gloves. "I can't say you folks aren't dedicated to your art," she joked darkly.

"Is she gonna be okay, doc?" Johnny asked worriedly. She raised a hand to stop him, but Johnny couldn't read her expression behind her surgical mask.

Luckily, she took it off immediately and put Johnny slightly more at ease when he could see she didn't look concerned in the least.

"She'll be fine, now," the doctor told him, causing Johnny to breathe a sigh of relief. "She lost quite a bit of blood, but you did a good job getting here her when you did. She needed stitches, so if you would like you can visit her in about an hour and check on her."

Johnny's shoulders drooped in a mixture of relief and dejection. He was hoping he would be able to talk to her sooner, but he wasn't about to tell the doctor how to do her job.

"Thank you," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"No problem," the doctor responded, heading out the door. Before she left, however, she turned around and gave the movie star a quick once-over.

"I recommend you stop by the cafeteria in the meantime," she commented. "You look like you could use a cup of joe."

She walked out without another word, leaving Johnny to his own thoughts in the waiting room. Luckily, he wasn't one to dwell on things too long when food was an option, and he decided to follow the good doctor's advice. He headed out and made his way to the cafeteria, deciding that what he really needed was some coffee and pancakes.

Pancakes made almost everything better.

* * *

Raiden sat on the edge of his bed, hanging his head in depression. Unbelievably, things had actually managed to get even worse. There had to be some kind of record for that.

He had been in the exact same position ever since Johnny took Sonya to the hospital. He hadn't even left the room.

He did, however, take one quick glance at the bloody _tachi_ that lay on the ground. He lamented over his foolishness. It briefly occurred to him that there was nothing stopping him now from trying again, but he restrained himself out of fear that somehow Johnny would find a way to make good on his promise.

Before he could continue to wallow in his own self-pity, however, he began to feel a draft pick up within the room. Quickly picking up on the bizarre phenomenon, Raiden lunged for the sword and switched to a defensive position, feeling a presence begin to make itself known in the room.

"At ease, Raiden," came the voice that startled the addressed into stepping back. A gust of wind spiraled and grew more heavily concentrated in front of him until a figure emerged from the miniature cyclone.

As Fujin took a step towards Raiden, the latter dropped his sword to his side. Panicking due to the fact that he did not know what to do, Raiden thought of how others would act when he used to make his presence known to them. He quickly dropped down on one knee and avoided eye contact with his new superior. Fujin, on the other hand, evidently felt the gesture was unnecessary.

"Rise, thunder god," Fujin instructed him, surprising Raiden. He had not heard the title in quite a while, and definitely didn't think he would be addressed by it now, of all times. However, he did as Fujin told him and stood up to look at the god of wind. He was amazed at how tall Fujin was in comparison to himself, wondering if he had managed to look as commanding when he had had the same status.

"Fujin," Raiden stammered out, looking the deity in the eye. "Thank the…"

He was about to say Elder Gods out of habit, but stopped himself, deciding not to give them too much credit for the situation.

"…heavens… you have arrived. I am at my wit's end. I have tried to decipher your message, but I still do not understand. Sonya, she is wounded, by _my_ hand! Fujin, I simply cannot continue to live like this…"

The wind god put up a hand for Raiden to stop, immediately silencing the latter. But Raiden felt he needed to make one more fact clear before Fujin spoke.

"Earthrealm is nothing like I envisioned it," Raiden lamented, dropping his gaze to the ground. He could not see it, but Fujin's expression indicated that he sympathized with his former fellow god.

"It is true that Earthrealm has changed much over the years, Raiden," Fujin concurred. "But I have come here to discuss far more important matters."

Raiden's head snapped up, fearful to hear what threat they faced now.

"Quan Chi came to me some time ago to inform me of another tournament," Fujin began to explain, watching Raiden's eyes grow large in horror.

"Surely you turned him down?" Raiden asked frantically. "Fujin, Earthrealm is in no shape now to handle another Mortal Kombat…"

Fujin raised his hand again, silencing Raiden briefly.

"I am aware of this," Fujin answered. "And rest assured I took that into consideration when I made my decision."

Raiden sighed in relief, thinking that Fujin had managed to buy them some time. Then the wind god spoke again.

"…Which is why I accepted his offer."

Raiden snapped his head up in the utmost alarm.

"What?" he shouted indignantly, giving Fujin the same look Liu Kang had given him when he had suggested that Shao Kahn must emerge the victor only so many days ago.

Fujin tried to calm his friend down again.

"Now, Raiden, you must hear me out…" was all Fujin could say before Raiden impulsively made a quick right hook for the wind deity's head; luckily, Fujin saw it coming in time to dissipate into the air, leaving Raiden swinging foolishly until he regained his footing. He swirled around, his fury and disbelief evident in his expression, to face Fujin as he rematerialized in another corner of the room.

"How could you be so foolish, Fujin?" Raiden cried hysterically. "Have you gone mad?"

"Enough!" Fujin bellowed, sending an already fatigued Raiden into silence one more time. He saw the emotional strain this was taking on Raiden written on his face, however, so when he spoke again, Fujin tried to keep his voice low.

"I know Earthrealm's state dearly, my old friend," Fujin stated calmly. "Which is why I had to accept the terms. If I did not, the retaliation would most likely have been too much for Earthrealm's forces to bear. Do you understand now, Raiden?" he finished, waiting for a response from his panting colleague.

"What were the terms?" Raiden demanded in one raspy breath, not bothering to make eye contact.

"If Outworld wins, Earthrealm will be merged. If Earthrealm wins, Outworld will cease to instigate the merging of the realms altogether."

So it was the same as last time. Raiden glared at Fujin, but pondered his friend's words carefully as he attempted to calm himself down. Unfortunately, Fujin was right; Raiden cast his gaze down as he grudgingly acknowledged that Fujin had made a fair judgment call (which was more than he could say for himself, lately).

"…I apologize," Raiden muttered quietly, putting his hand to his forehead. When he dropped it to his side, he stood up and looked Fujin in the eye again.

"But now I must ask you, Fujin," Raiden stated, catching the god's attention. "Whom exactly do you intend to fight in this tournament?"

Fujin surprised him by smiling slightly in amusement.

"Well," the wind god responded casually. "I had intended to bring Cage and Blade to Outworld, obviously. But seeing as they are not present, I guess that leaves me with only one other option."

He took a step towards Raiden and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in a show of camaraderie. Raiden, however, was in nowhere near as friendly a mood, and looked away unsurely.

"…I cannot," he declined. "I am too weak. Not to mention what I did to Sonya. They will never forgive me for that, and when Johnny gets back…"

"You are not too weak, Raiden," Fujin cut him off, dropping his hand. "And as for your friends, I can assure you they will be fine. True companions know when you have made an honest mistake, and they will forgive you in time. But Earthrealm needs a defender now."

Raiden looked pensive at his statement. He glanced briefly at the _tachi_ again.

Evidently, Fujin caught this gesture and immediately tried to detract Raiden's attention from the thought.

"Now is your opportunity to help Earthrealm, Raiden," Fujin told him, earning a timid look from a nerve-stricken Raiden. "This is your chance. No sword can cleanse the ramifications of your efforts; only action will."

He could see his words begin to get to Raiden as the latter's expression solidified into a more determined one.

"Are you with me?" Fujin asked finally, observing his friend's reaction.

Raiden glanced around the room one last time. He knew now that if he was going to do this, he couldn't rely on his instincts alone. He needed resources, and as he scanned the room one last time, he picked them out immediately, formulating a plan quickly. Raiden finally responded to Fujin's request.

"…Let's go."

* * *

**I promise things begin to pick up from here. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Let me just say that I had to break this up; it was originally all going into one chapter, but it would have been _way_ too long. So this is one last chapter of filler before the action kicks in.**

* * *

Johnny stood awkwardly in front of Sonya's room. The curtain on the other side of the glass wall obstructed his view from her, but perhaps it was for the better. Even though the doctor had told him he was allowed in to see her, he wasn't sure he was completely ready to do so. Plus, if she was awake, he probably wouldn't hear the end of it from her for leaving Raiden alone back at the house.

But despite whatever would happen, he knew he had to see her.

He wanted to see her.

So he sucked it up and walked through the opening, finally catching a good view of her. Needless to say, Johnny didn't like what he saw. Sonya, the last person in the world he expected to look small and helpless, was doing exactly that as she lay reclining in the hospital bed. Even though it was still early in the day, the curtains were drawn closed, and in the dim light Johnny couldn't tell if her eyes were open. He noticed with a touch of insecurity that she looked just as pale as Raiden had the day they had brought him to Johnny's house.

He restrained himself from walking over immediately and hung around in the doorway, even though he knew if he didn't take the chance now, it would probably be a while before he could talk to Sonya again. But he felt unsure about going over to check if she was awake, and if she wasn't, he knew it probably wasn't a good idea to wake her up.

Almost chickening out, he seriously considered ducking out of the room right before he heard her speak.

"I won't bite," she muttered dryly from her bed, startling Johnny. "Yet."

At this she gave as much of a smirk as she could muster, a humorless one that Johnny wasn't sure was weakened by the pain or her soon-to-be expressed irritation at the situation with Raiden. But at least she was awake and okay, and even as Johnny could see her weary expression written plainly on her face, he roused himself to go over and pull up a chair next to her.

"Morning, sunshine," he tried to joke, but Sonya ignored his statement and got right to the point.

"How's Raiden?" she demanded weakly. Johnny sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"No idea," he admitted, expecting a strong reaction from Sonya. Surprisingly, he became even more concerned when her face registered no sign of emotion. She just lay there, looking at him but not responding. It unnerved him far more than he expected.

"But I'm gonna go back and get him as soon as I get out of here," Johnny assured her, sitting forward again. "He's not our biggest worry right now. You are."

Johnny tried to force something like a smirk, but his heart fell as he realized Sonya simply didn't have the energy to do the same. Unsurely, he lifted his hand, and then dropped it. Changing his mind, he quickly lifted it again and placed it on the bed, near Sonya's hand. He wasn't sure if she was aware of the gesture, and so he placed his own hand a little closer to her so that their fingers overlapped, for just barely a few seconds.

Deeming the situation too awkward, however, he quickly retracted his hand again and looked at his knees.

"You need your rest," he sputtered out after a few seconds, glancing at her. She still didn't look like she wanted to respond.

"So…" Johnny stammered, getting up unsurely from his chair. "I'm just gonna… get out of your hair. Go check on Raiden."

She was still quiet as she lay in the hospital bed, but she did look in his direction this time. Johnny was backing out of the doorway, and stopped to deliver one last message.

"We'll be back real soon. All right?" he asked for confirmation. He received none. Evidently Sonya had gone back to sleep.

Dejected, Johnny made his way out down the hallway. He grudgingly admitted to himself she needed the rest.

* * *

"…I look ridiculous," Raiden complained as he stood next to Fujin in the crowd. He was remarking on the scratchy blue crushed velvet robe that he had swiped from Johnny's drawer back at his house. Although it miraculously fit (whatever competition Johnny had won evidently did not make the robe to fit, and so had oversized it for display), Raiden had thought he had a chance at detracting from the tacky fabric by wrapping his hands and chest in Johnny's medical tape. But now he began to doubt himself, and tugged on the edge of the sleeve, hoping he could tuck in the flashy yellow trim.

Fujin, who had had to bear the brunt of Raiden's whining and insecurities since they had arrived in Edenia, exhaled sharply and looked at his ally unkindly.

"Enough," Fujin commanded irritably, surprising Raiden, who had never seen the normally laid-back wind god bear harsh words for anyone. "This is not a fashion contest. Besides, it was your idea. I wish to hear no more of it for the time we are here."

Here, of course, referred to the crowd of kombatants they were in the midst of, all of who were talking amongst themselves, giving each other intimidating looks, or staring eagerly at the seat of the throne up at the heart of the coliseum which formerly belonged to Shao Kahn. Now, in his place, Mileena occupied the throne, donning traditional Edenian armor and slouching in her father's seat. A smug-looking Quan Chi stood off to her right, and to her left Baraka had stationed himself within her view. Many of the competitors couldn't help but notice the looks the latter and Mileena frequently gave each other, but no one dared to point it out. Meanwhile, the audience was making a deafening ruckus from the stands, drowning out most conversation in their frantic thirst for bloodshed.

Raiden looked around, scanning as many kontestants as he could and attempting to analyze possible strengths and weaknesses immediately. He cursed himself for not bringing a weapon, but Fujin would not let him near any of the swords. Exasperated, Raiden had decided he would have to rely on good old-fashioned fisticuffs, but as he observed the crowd, he found he would be at a severe disadvantage.

"Now, Raiden," Fujin caught his attention, gesturing to the elevated platform on which the throne rested. "The tournament begins."

At that moment, Quan Chi stepped forward, resulting in the cries from the audience dying down to a hushed, rumbling series of whispers as they waited in anticipation for what the speaker had to announce. Quan Chi looked out over the entire stadium. Suddenly, he lifted his arms up as an invitation for the crowd to raise their voices once more, and the ear-shattering roar the spectators let out confirmed to the sorcerer that he had their attention.

"Brethren!" Quan Chi called out over the shrieks, causing Raiden to almost roll his eyes in contempt before he stopped himself. "Today you will witness history! Not just for one realm, but for all!"

Even though it didn't seem possible, the crowd grew even more frantic. Citizens of Outworld and Edenia alike shouted support for their comrades from deep within the stands. Quan Chi dropped his arms, and on cue, the cries died down again impressively quickly.

"Though Mortal Kombat is no more," Quan Chi spoke, his demonically deep voice booming throughout the stadium without the aid of a microphone of any sort. "In the spirit of sportsmanship, we have invited the realms' strongest fighters to come together again once more to prove who the true champion is!"

The audience roared with approval once more, this time joined by some of the warriors below. Raiden began to experience a headache from the thought that he would have to endure this incessant racket the entire time he was fighting.

Quan Chi turned around to face Mileena, who glared back maniacally at him from her seat. Then again, glaring maniacally was her default expression.

"What say you to initiating this tournament, my queen?" Quan Chi asked her, bowing slightly as he referred to one of his superiors. Even from the stands and the ground, the wicked glint in Mileena's eye was visible enough to signal that underneath her mask, she was grinning wildly with that hideous Tarkatan mouth of hers.

"Let the games begin!" Mileena projected throughout the stadium, rallying the audience back into frenzy, despite the fact that the banter between herself and Quan Chi seemed awfully rehearsed.

Smirking, Quan Chi looked back out, this time directing his attention to the lowly combatants before him.

"The first set of rounds will begin," he barked at them. "Do we have any volunteers?"

Immediately those of the warriors who thought the most highly of themselves stepped out into clear view, and immediately paired themselves off into the first few matches they would face. Apparently, however, the arena could accommodate even more fighters at the moment, and so Quan Chi summoned Reptile to scout out more kombatants from the crowd.

Raiden took notice of this immediately. Trying to keep his expression even so as not to attract Fujin's attention, Raiden waited for Reptile to walk within earshot. Taking his opportunity when Fujin looked the other way to observe the other kontestants, Raiden inched his way through to the front of the crowd.

"Reptile!" Raiden hissed out as the ninja with the scaly complexion walked by, examining whom to pick out from the bushel of fighters. Hearing his name, Reptile cocked his head to one side, looking for the source when finally he made eye contact with Raiden, who still guarded himself behind other warriors, but beckoned Reptile to come closer.

"Please hear me out," Raiden pleaded, earning an unresponsive look from the reptilian warrior. He decided to make this quick before Reptile lost interest.

"I know your clan was a casualty of the battle for Earthrealm centuries ago," Raiden spoke quickly. At this, Reptile looked puzzled, but suddenly the identity of the stranger clicked in his memory. Reptile seemed much more attentive, and perhaps contrary to what Raiden intended, more hostile. Raiden, however, did not pick up on this and continued speaking.

"I do not know what they have offered you," Raiden said obliviously, "they" referring to anybody Raiden could safely infer was doing Quan Chi's bidding. "But I must warn you; if they offer salvation for your race, you will not find it. All I ask is that you do not hold feelings of antagonism towards Earthrealm. I can only assure you Quan Chi and the others do not hold your best interests at heart, despite what they may have led you to believe."

Raiden waited for Reptile's response, which was nothing but a low hiss and a blank stare.

"I am not demanding you pick sides," Raiden explained. "I am just saying, choose your allies carefully. If you should decide to align yourself with Earthrealm now, I cannot promise you back your people, but I can assure you I will find another way to repay your service in full."

Reptile stopped hissing for a second and seemed pensive at this. Raiden waited impatiently for an answer.

"Please," he begged. "Earthrealm needs assistance, now more than ever."

He held out a hand to Reptile as an offer of alliance.

"Do you understand?"

Reptile looked at Raiden's hand, and then back up at the former thunder god. He seemed to be thinking for a moment, and suddenly grabbed the outstretched hand, much to Raiden's fleeting delight.

In the next few seconds, however, Reptile managed to yank Raiden out of the crowd and flung him out into the open for all to see.

"Raiden!" he could hear Fujin cry out as he stumbled to regain his footing. Bewildered, Raiden tried to catch a glimpse of Reptile again. Unfortunately, the ninja had vanished and reappeared back on the stage, next to a uncomfortably satisfied-looking Quan Chi. The sorcerer had not expected for the thunder god to come into play this early in his little game, but arguably the circumstances were even more in Quan Chi's favor now.

Grinning darkly, Quan Chi made an ushering motion with his hand to someone Raiden could not see in the crowd. Growing frantic Raiden tried to scan anybody he could have possibly missed out of the fighters.

"Your first opponent shall be…" Quan Chi began, dropping his hand. The one he had summoned stepped out robotically from the cluster of warriors. There was no sense of life in the fighter's step; he was driven only by some invisible force. There was no mind to back up the movement of the body.

Still, Raiden recognized him immediately. And he could feel his heart plunge into his stomach before Quan Chi even spoke his name.

"…Nightwolf."


	14. Chapter 14

The shell of the Native American warrior stared emptily back at Raiden, whose gut-wrenching distress upon seeing one of former best friends reduced to nothing but a mind-controlled zombie almost spurred him to jump back into the crowd and hope Fujin would cover him. But Raiden barely had time to stand up straight before Quan Chi raised his hand as the signal to all of the kombatants on the ground.

"Round one!" he shouted, bringing his hand down. "Begin!"

Within the next few seconds the fights broke out into mayhem; there were no bounds dividing individual matches, and so warriors not intended to face each other ended up colliding as their opponents threw them into the middle of other participants' battles. However, Quan Chi did not seem too inclined to call foul play on any of this.

Raiden had barely had time to establish a fighting stance before Nightwolf shot forward and delivered a hard right hook to his head, sending Raiden spiraling into Scorpion and another, unknown fighter's match. Luckily, Raiden managed even in his shaken state to dodge one of Scorpion's kunai and swung himself around into another opening on the ground.

Unfortunately, that meant Nightwolf had another clear view of him, and Raiden only barely turned around in time to narrowly miss another one of the shaman's punches. For a short time, Raiden could not find an opening in Nightwolf's defense and had to resort to dodging around his opponent's hits. With each subsequent step Raiden took, however, he brought them both closer to another group's fight. Exasperated from trying to keep track of where everyone was going, Raiden couldn't block in time when Nightwolf grabbed him by the hem of his robe and delivered a forceful kick to his abdomen.

Raiden could feel the crushing impact as his lower ribs cracked while he went flying backwards through the air. The blow was worsened once he hit the ground, and he lay there, trying to allow the pain to die down, even as Nightwolf approached him.

Quan Chi smiled menacingly. He had been paying special attention to their fight, enjoying the torment through which Raiden was currently being put. It was even more fun than he expected. Wherever Shinnok was now, Quan Chi hoped he was watching with as much amusement as he was.

Unfortunately, he had to keep an eye on the other fighters, too. Luckily most of the matches were beginning to slow down as well. Once enough of the competitors seemed to be down, Quan Chi made a signal. Everyone in the stadium turned deathly quiet as they waited for the master of ceremonies to speak.

"End of round one," he bellowed. The fighters who could still get up did so, and the three who remained motionless were carried out by Tarkatans on standby. Their opponents most likely received instant victory and would proceed to the next round once the first few sets finished.

With more space now, the other two remaining groups of fighters had room to spread out. Raiden and Nightwolf, on the other hand, stayed in place as Raiden struggled to get up.

Quan Chi, feeling the process was taking too long, discreetly summoned a spell that forced Nightwolf to pick Raiden up. With a violent push, the shaman on the ground moved Raiden away, and the latter stumbled slightly again before he regained his stance.

"Round two!" came the cry from the top of the pyramid. "Fight!"

Much to his own surprise, Raiden was prepared this time; now that the adrenaline had kicked in, he was able to swiftly avoid Nightwolf's first attack. However, the next came much more quickly, right for Raiden's ribcage again.

But this time, Raiden caught the hit. True, Nightwolf had managed to hit him in the sore spot, but again to Raiden's disbelief he had a good hold on his opponent's arm. Acting instinctually, he twisted the shaft of Nightwolf's forearm and swung his leg under Nightwolf's, breaking his footing. He managed to work in one final shove that sent Nightwolf flying in the opposite direction, putting a fair bit of distance between them.

Still, Nightwolf, running on nothing but Quan Chi's black magic, quickly brushed off the impediment and got up again. In the meantime, Raiden had finally fixed himself, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He tried to remind himself that this was not truly Nightwolf, but the doubt nagging at the back of his mind weakened his resolve slightly; he pushed it out, however, and worked to make sure his instinct remained in control.

Quan Chi looked on disapprovingly at what had just transpired. He tried to remain confident that his minion would resolve matters quickly.

Nightwolf charged at Raiden now, apparently striving for a simple, brutal attack that would finish things immediately. Raiden, now beginning to take cues on how Nightwolf was fighting, used Nightwolf's speed and trajectory to deflect his arm and slide around his foe. At the same time he kept his arms tucked in close to his torso, feeling little sparks of static electricity running along the length of the fabric from the robe.

Nightwolf stumbled and turned around to face his opponent again. He mechanically chose the same action as before, swinging directly for Raiden, who continued to step around Nightwolf's attacks effortlessly now that he was familiar with the pattern of the battle, being careful not to make any physical contact at all with Nightwolf.

"I did not know the thunder god was such an adept dancer," Baraka commented sarcastically to Quan Chi, remarking on what their battle looked like from above on the stage. Quan Chi ignored him and focused on their fight.

On the ground, Raiden continued to focus on Nightwolf's technique and rhythm. The Apache warrior continued with his method of blindly swinging around and hoping for a hit to connect. Raiden, on the other hand, was carefully timing his own movements, feeling the small spurts of static beginning to multiply and grow in intensity. As he dodged Nightwolf's onslaught, he tried to focus on concentrating as much of the energy as he could in one hand. He had not counted on the robe providing him with a huge supply of energy, but anything he could utilize at this point was welcome. And between his sharp, abrupt movements, Raiden was already producing more energy than he had initially anticipated.

He waited another minute and continued to dodge Nightwolf's endless barrage of punches. A small but fair-sized bunch of energy was now crackling in his right hand, and Raiden knew he had to time his next attack perfectly if he wished to make it out of this round alive.

He waited another moment more; luckily, maybe due to the Elder Gods finally taking pity on him (although he doubted it), the next attack Nightwolf intended for his former mentor sent him lunging forward as Raiden stepped effortlessly out of the way. But this time Raiden didn't give him the opportunity to look back around; he swiftly grabbed Nightwolf's hair with his free left hand and yanked his former student upright. In the moment Nightwolf began to struggle, Raiden analyzed all possible pressure points that were open.

In the next moment Raiden's fist smashed against a vulnerable spot in Nightwolf's spinal cord, sending the chunk of electric energy he had collected and subconsciously tried to amplify as much as he could directly throughout Nightwolf's nervous system, or what was left of it. Even though it was a fairly small amount, everybody could see Nightwolf's body as it went into minor convulsions, having not expected such an attack. Raiden took advantage of the moment to let go of Nightwolf's hair and kick him hard enough that he landed an impressive distance away and did not get back up.

Even though many in the crowd were supposedly aligned with Outworld or Edenia, those who had paid attention to Nightwolf and Raiden's match broke out into rabid applause at the unexpected counter. Those on the stage, too, were mildly stunned by the unexpected victory.

At first Raiden ignored the frantic shrieks from the audience, focusing only on his opponent. True, Nightwolf was trying to kill him. But even as his friend came at him with no remorse, no regrets, with the intention to finish him off, Raiden knew it was not of his own will. He was still mourning the loss of one of his best warrior's souls as Quan Chi signaled the end of the match.

"End of round two," Quan Chi remarked tonelessly. He looked down with disgust at the situation below. The fighter from the other two groups who had emerged victorious looked down upon their vanquished enemies. More Tarkatans were called out to carry out the corpses, one of which had to be brought away in sections.

Raiden and Nightwolf constituted the only primary match which would have to be decided by a tie-breaker. As Nightwolf slowly regained his footing, Quan Chi leered at him disapprovingly. He wanted this to end _now_, before he would be forced to step in and finish the job himself. But he couldn't afford to get his hands dirty just yet.

"Round three!" Quan Chi roared across the stadium. The crowd had fallen uncomfortably quiet once more, anticipating the outcome of the next round. Fujin looked on apprehensively. He was relieved that Raiden had managed to find his fighting spirit in time, but he did not know how well his friend would continue to hold out.

Quan Chi stretched the silence for all its worth, allowing Nightwolf enough time to properly set himself straight. He did not want this fool to screw up his plans any further.

"Fight!"

This time Nightwolf held nothing back; he let out a terrifying roar and charged at Raiden again. The latter, knowing he probably wouldn't have enough time to charge up another attack like the last one, could only jump out of the way as he tried to think of another plan.

Unfortunately, Nightwolf rebounded too quickly to allow him time to think. He lunged back at Raiden and tried to deliver another right hook, which Raiden instinctually blocked. For another minute, he actually managed to do a decent job directly blocking most of Nightwolf's other attacks. Still, he was better at constructing strategies when he was _away_ from Nightwolf, not desperately trying to fend his attacker off while his menacing sneer was directly in his face.

In the next instant, though, Nightwolf did something Raiden would have thought would have been beyond his capabilities as a mindless drone; he stepped back and sucker-punched the air in front of Raiden, leading to the latter catching his fist out of reflex. But then Nightwolf used Raiden's occupied hand to his advantage, using the same leg hook to break his stance that his teacher had used on him only a few minutes ago. As Raiden was left swinging for balance, Nightwolf caught his other hand and began trying to wrestle him to the ground.

"Give up now, Heyoka," Nightwolf barked in a hollow fury, in a voice that was his but shouldn't have been. Raiden looked at him in terror, painfully recognizing the nickname his pupil had adopted for him when they first met. "Earthrealm is ours. You are but one insignificant worm. We are many."

Raiden struggled to ignore his friend's disparaging speech, but his resolve continued to weaken as he realized Nightwolf was slowly beginning to overpower him. He cursed Quan Chi violently in his mind for reducing his warriors to this state, and promised he would find a way to make the sorcerer pay.

Meanwhile, said necromancer was still up on the stage, looking on with delight at what he hoped would be the end to the pesky thunder god.

Raiden glanced quickly behind him and noticed that Nightwolf had intentionally maneuvered them to a spot only feet away from one of the arena's death traps, a pit filled with spires on which enemies could be quickly impaled. All it would take was one push from Nightwolf to finish off Raiden for good.

He looked back at Nightwolf and saw his friend-turned-enemy throw one of his hands back to summon a spirit axe. With a primal roar, Nightwolf began to bring down the weapon upon his teacher.

Within the next split second Raiden acted on instinct.

_I'm sorry, Nightwolf,_ were his final words to his friend in his head as he dropped on his back, bringing the Apache down with him. Before Nightwolf collided with him, however, Raiden used both legs to kick him off, back over his head and into the spike pit.

The entire audience fell silent as Raiden sat back up, panting. He feared to look behind him, but he knew he would have to face the sight eventually.

Turning around shakily, he looked to see if his last-ditch attempt had worked.

Much to Raiden's utter dismay, it did.

Nightwolf's body rested lifelessly on the spike on which he had been thrown, and the fresh blood from his torso glistened over the rest that had coagulated from warriors over the years at the top of the spike. Even as a mindless, minion, however, his face had still managed to register shock at his defeat, an expression which cemented as he had died in agonizing pain.

The crowd burst into roars of approval, even as Raiden looked like he was about to throw up. Quan Chi, too, ignored the crowd as he looked on in fury. He had just lost one of his best warriors to a _mortal_? One that had had his powers revoked? How could this have happened? !

He grew even more frustrated as Nightwolf's body dissipated into spiritual mist, the spell bounding him to Quan Chi having broken. The necromancer cursed under his breath as the crowd continued to cheer Raiden on, even as he limped miserably back to Fujin.

Luckily, Fujin caught and supported him once he made his way back into the group of warriors. Some of the others expressed approval, while others eyed Raiden warily, both out of disbelief that he had emerged victorious and apprehension at the thought of how well he would fare in a match against them, given his apparent resourcefulness.

"You did well, Raiden," Fujin congratulated him as Raiden tried to stand back up on his feet.

He gasped for air, only barely getting his next comment out to Fujin.

"Quan Chi… is using their souls… against me."

"I know, Raiden," Fujin tried to assure him. Raiden shook his head.

"I cannot do this, Fujin," he spat out, clarifying what he had originally intended. "It is too much to bear."

"I am afraid we do not have a choice, Raiden," Fujin lamented as he looked at his already weary friend. "Too much is at stake now."

Fujin looked back up at the crowd.

"Prepare yourself, Raiden," he said, not looking at his friend. "The worst is yet to come."

* * *

**Be the leaf, Raiden! Be the leaf! *does the wave***


	15. Chapter 15

Quan Chi leered in disgust over everyone in the stadium. Most paid no mind to the Netherrealm resident with the sour disposition on stage, though; many were too busy hollering in approval over the last matches or crying out for more blood.

Still, Quan Chi needed to think his next move through carefully. He had obviously not foreseen the fallen god's craftiness, and reprimanded himself on his shortsightedness. He knew now that the next chance he got, he would have to eradicate Raiden immediately. The thunder god was already a liability he could not afford to have on his hands, not when everything else in his plan had gone so perfectly up to this point.

Luckily, the next bracket of matches was coming up shortly. Only two matches from the preliminary rounds were left in the arena, and within a minute both ended in bloody victories for their champions. The crowd roared with appreciation for the blood sport as Quan Chi immediately began thinking over his options for how to deal with the depowered deity on the ground.

He decided he would have to send out one of his most formidable warriors out immediately, much earlier than he anticipated. He knew now how dangerously he had underestimated Raiden.

"Victors," he projected out into the stadium, earning the attention of the competitors on the ground, now reduced in numbers by half. "Well done. You will now face each other for the right to move on to the next round."

Many of the kombatants around Raiden and Fujin let out mighty war cries. Raiden, however, still smarting in many aspects from his round with Nightwolf, started and shrank back slightly.

Quan Chi smirked, waiting for what would be the looks on their faces when he revealed his next bit of new for them.

"Or, shall I say, most of you."

Silence quickly settled over all of the arena's occupants. Many, not knowing Quan Chi, had not anticipated a sudden change in the rules.

"A select few of you will be chosen to personally take on some of my best warriors," Quan Chi explained, noting with amusement the expressions on many of the fighters as they realized they had quite possibly sized up the wrong opponents.

"Perhaps some of you will be fortunate enough to prove your fortitude against these kombatants," he continued. "And the others, well…"

He stopped, letting out a low, rumbling chuckle.

"… let us just say that should you lose, you and I will meet again soon."

Raiden's eyes had widened in terror as Quan Chi had delivered his speech, knowing full well the sorcerer had something wicked in store for him.

"Advance," Quan Chi commanded the lot of them. The remaining fighters stepped out into the open grounds of the arena, igniting the cries from the audience.

Raiden looked worriedly back at Fujin before he forced himself to step out as well. He tried his best to remain outside of Quan Chi's view, but the other kontestants next to him moved out of the way, almost as if they, too, could sense he was some kind of target.

Quan Chi directly singled Raiden out from up on stage. As the audience watched, he raised his hands up to his sides, performing a summoning spell that created two pillars of spiraling green smoke on either side of him. A moment later, two of his drones appeared from the haze.

Like he had with Nightwolf, Raiden shuddered as he recognized Kitana and Sub-Zero standing next to Quan Chi. He clenched his jaw in nervous anticipation as Quan Chi picked out a random fighter from amongst the selection available on the ground, and pointed them out for Kitana, like one would point out a treat for a dog.

Many Edenians in the crowd were shouting words of support for what they thought was their former princess as she descended the stairs from the platform to face her unlucky opponent. Raiden was too busy looking back up at Quan Chi to bother noticing who her foe was.

And for good reason, too; the next second, Quan Chi managed to zero in on Raiden's location.

With Sub-Zero at his side, he pointed a damning finger in Raiden's direction.

* * *

Johnny closed the door behind him as he entered his house, taking a second to stop and think as he stood in the open space of his foyer. He didn't know what he was going to say to Raiden, and feared what could have happened in the time he was gone. If he found Raiden, he would make sure to tell him Sonya was okay. Maybe that would lighten his spirits a bit.

He could hear the TV on in the living room. He found it a bit strange, since he thought Raiden would have been too busy sulking to bother with something frivolous like television. Putting his hands in his pockets, he walked towards the sound.

"Raiden?" he called out, waiting for a response. Much to his confusion, however, when he walked into the living room, not a soul was in sight. It struck Johnny as odd, but maybe Raiden had just left the TV on to let him know that he was still in the house, just off skulking over Sonya.

He shrugged, deciding to check Raiden's room next.

"Raiden?" he shouted again as he cracked the door open. Johnny scanned the room. Much to his discomfort, it was completely empty. A mixture of fear and fury began to brew inside Johnny as he looked frantically down both directions of the hallway. There was no way Raiden could have left. No way. _No_ way!

"_RAIDEN!_"

* * *

Raiden silently commanded himself to stop shaking as his opponent stared him down soullessly, the light glinting coldly off of his blue-tinted robotic armor. But Sub-Zero represented more than just another obstacle to overcome in this tournament; no, he was a testament to Raiden's foolishness, a living (so to speak) example of how Raiden's mistakes had irreversibly altered another's life not once, but _twice_, from human to machine to puppet.

Not that it looked like it bothered Sub-Zero any; he just continued to stare at Raiden lifelessly through the two mechanical slits that his eyes had become.

Meanwhile, Quan Chi was almost outright smiling with glee at the top of the platform as he continued to watch Raiden's episode of mental torment. He took his chance now as his target was weak.

"Round one! Fight!" he shouted quickly, barely allowing Raiden enough time to establish a fighting stance.

Sub-Zero's first attack came swiftly, a punch square in the gut that sent a winded Raiden spiraling some odd number of feet away. Hitting the ground, Raiden tried propping himself up, even as his head spun. He did, however, manage to notice another fighter's match coming in time to roll out of the way.

Unfortunately, the action left him little time to see Sub-Zero as he caught up and delivered a hard kick to Raiden's rib cage. The air knocked out of him again, Raiden was easily picked up by the hem of his collar, which Sub-Zero used to repeatedly slam his opponent's head into the ground until he dropped the unconscious Raiden like a doll.

Fujin looked on in worry as his champion lay lifelessly face down in the dirt. Quan Chi, in the meantime, was happy to view the same sight, completely ignoring the other fighters, even as Kitana quickly finished her challenger with a disemboweling fan cut to the abdomen. He thought the one obstacle on his path to victory had finally been eliminated.

"End of round one," he declared, at this point not even bothering to hide the fact that he was using Raiden's matches as the marker for the end of the fights.

Just then, settling Fujin's fears but reigniting Quan Chi's, Raiden shakily used his hands to prop himself up again. Even as a gash on his skull left fresh blood trickling down the side of his face, Raiden continued to try and stand himself up, almost losing his balance due to his concussion but reestablishing his footing. Seeing that their underdog had once again beaten the odds, some in the audience let out a supportive roar. Needless to say, Quan Chi was not amused. Nostrils flaring, he raised his hand in signal.

"Round two," he barked. "Fight!"

Raiden moved clumsily as he tried to maneuver around Sub-Zero's quick punches, his reflexes severely impaired by the massive headache his enemy's onslaught had caused. He was too slow to dodge the uppercut Sub-Zero delivered suddenly; steel crashed against the bone in his jaw as Raiden again was sent flying in the other direction.

Fujin looked on in massive distress. However, he was quickly distracted by a brilliant flash that illuminated in front of his eyes. He immediately recognized it as a vision of some sort, not one sent through time like the ones Raiden had experienced and told him about, but across the spatial dimensions and through the realms. He could briefly view Johnny Cage running frantically around in his own home, a message Fujin promptly interpreted.

The vision subsided as quickly as it had arrived. His view now cleared, Fujin could see Raiden ducking around Sub-Zero's feet as the possessed cyborg attempted to land a solid stomp on his opponent.

Fujin began cursing himself silently for bringing Raiden into a conflict for which he was clearly not prepared. Even though he had done it with the best intentions, namely protecting Earthrealm and offering his long-time friend another chance at redemption, his heart grew heavy with the realization that Raiden was simply not going to make it out of this alive.

"I am sorry, old friend," Fujin muttered mournfully, an apology that was lost amongst the screams of the crowds.

Suddenly, with an unforeseen burst of speed, Raiden grabbed a hold of Sub-Zero's metallic calf and miraculously managed to keep his grip, sending the robotic warrior spiraling out of balance with only one foot on the ground. Fujin's blank eyes widened in surprise as he realized he may have spoken too soon.

Raiden must have somehow heard Fujin's apology and decided it was unacceptable, because in the next moment he brought up his free hand and delivered a crippling chop to Sub-Zero's knee, breaking the robotic warrior's leg clean in half at the joint.

As the crowd continued to cheer him on, Raiden swung Sub-Zero's knee around like a club, effectively knocking the now one-and-a-half-legged Lin Kuei member back a few feet. Keeping the severed electronic leg in his hand, Raiden rapidly approached Sub-Zero and managed to grab a hold of the wires that protruded from the back of the ninja's head like dreadlocks while he was in mid- swing from the impact of Raiden's blow.

Fujin looked on hopefully for a second before Sub-Zero grabbed Raiden's hand from over his shoulder. In a move that neither Fujin nor Raiden had seen coming, Sub-Zero quickly encased Raiden's hand in a block of ice. With the cords still in Raiden's grip, Sub-Zero turned around, bringing his arm down in a chopping motion that fractured Raiden's wrist at the joint, shattering the ice and incapacitating him as Sub-Zero pushed the former thunder god away, sending him skidding into the dirt. With him went parts of the cords that he had managed to rip out from the back of Sub-Zero's head.

Raiden had little time to acknowledge the stinging flash of pain in his arm and only barely managed to open his eyes in time after the first wave passed. Sub-Zero couldn't get a good running start without two functioning legs, so he instead opted for powering up the ice cannon in his chest cavity and launching into a finishing lunge towards Raiden, forgetting that the latter was still holding his leg.

Thinking quickly, Raiden swung the mechanical limb into Sub-Zero's skull just in time, knocking the android into the ground next to him. The leg too battered to be useful as a weapon anymore, Raiden tossed it aside. As Sub-Zero struggled to reorient himself to his surroundings, Raiden could see flickers of static crackling around the edges of the severed wires in the back of his head. Raiden's eyes lit up as he recognized his only opportunity to get out of this fight alive.

Instinctually, he grabbed for the wires. Immediately he could feel the surge of energy run through his muscles the second he made contact with the exposed cords. His strength renewed, Raiden held on with an iron grip to the back of Sub-Zero's head, yanking the Lin Kuei up and watching him twitch and his artificial eyes flicker as Raiden instinctively siphoned the electrical energy from his system. Raiden's own eyes, however, began to grow an electric blue as static coursed through his veins.

Many in the audience gazed in wonder at the spectacle, Fujin included. He did not mean to doubt Raiden, but in all honesty he had not expected his ally to make such a speedy comeback. It didn't matter in the end, as he found himself cheering with the rest of the audience, earning strange looks from those around him as he unwittingly barked words of encouragement to Raiden. Up on the stage Quan Chi watched in disbelief.

Even though more in the crowd were cheering on for him now, Raiden paid them no mind. He only focused on the task in front of him, on eliminating the drone right before his eyes. He had finally managed to convince himself that these were not the allies he knew and had trusted. They were only Quan Chi's puppets.

With that, Raiden drove a hard fist directly through Sub-Zero's metal skull, his power augmented by the electricity. The robot's face caved in as Raiden's fist came out of the other side of his head, taking with it parts of Sub-Zero's brain, which had been left in during his automation, and a good chunk of the circuitry that had been used to control it.

Once the audience fell into a stunned silence, Raiden withdrew his fist, sending more bits of tissue and gadgetry flying. The entire stadium was quiet enough to hear Sub-Zero's empty shell hit the ground before they exploded into amazed frenzy even more intense than before.

The glow from Raiden's eyes died down as the surge of energy slowly drained from his body. Even as he powered down, however, he continued to look at Sub-Zero with no expression on his face. The former Lin Kuei member's soul dissipated from within the metallic frame, leaving behind a high-tech exoskeleton. Not saying a word, Raiden simply stood up, ignoring the cries from the audience.

However, he managed to tuck something discreetly into his sleeve as he walked away from Sub-Zero's beaten and broken body, not making eye contact with anyone as he walked back to his spot in the stands, not even Fujin.

But Quan Chi had Raiden clearly in his sights as he made his way back to the crowd of kombatants, dumbfounded. How was this possible? How in all of the realms had Raiden managed to defeat _Sub-Zero?_ Quan Chi simply could not process the fact that Raiden had just defeated one of the strongest warriors under his command. He was almost shaking with fury at what he had just witnessed.

His expression dangerously livid, Quan Chi called off the end of round two. He grudgingly and quickly initiated the last of the rounds, keeping an eye on Raiden as he did so.

On the ground, Raiden paid him no mind as he took his place next to Fujin, with whom he still would not make direct eye contact, even as Fujin looked at him incredulously.

"Excellent job, Raiden," he complimented him, still to no effect. Confused, Fujin decided maybe Raiden was simply too disturbed by the last few fights to talk, until his comrade spoke up.

"I managed to obtain this," Raiden explained quietly, showing Fujin the object he had snuck out in his sleeve; it was a circuit box of some sort, with a stem that resembled part of an artificial spinal cord sticking out of the bottom, wires hanging out exposed, and an empty battery chamber. Fujin realized he must have managed to salvage it from Sub-Zero's internal machinery when he had punched in the robot's skull (the battery had either been lost or destroyed).

"I believe it could be useful," Raiden continued to explain in a low voice as he tucked it back into his sleeve. Fujin looked back up at him in slight amazement, admiring his friend for his resourcefulness.

"If I could only find an energy source of some sort," Raiden thought out loud, still not looking at Fujin. The wind god offered no advice on how Raiden would possibly go about performing such a task, but figured that if he had been able to use his surroundings in such an effective manner at this point, surely he would be able to think of something.

Fujin nodded and looked with Raiden back out into the arena as two Tarkatans lifted Sub-Zero's armor out of the ring like it was scrap metal.


	16. Chapter 16

**Sorry; I would have written this earlier but I got too busy watching Pewdiepie videos. O_o**

* * *

Still fuming, Quan Chi plotted his next move very carefully. He could not send Kitana out, because she had already participated in the last set of matches, and to keep the crowd entertained he would probably need to withhold her until the tier after the next. He knew his warriors with any kind of technical augmentation would most likely be easy targets for Raiden, so Jax and Kabal were right out. Preferably, his next challenger should be someone free of any artificial enhancements who could attack from a far range so the thunder god would not be able to land any hits on them.

The face of the first person who met the criteria flashed through Quan Chi's mind, and the sorcerer grinned wickedly as he assured himself he had made the correct decision this time.

"Kombatants!" he bellowed, earning everyone's attention once again. "You have earned the honor of proceeding to your next matches! Again, two of you will be lucky enough to face off against kontestants of my own!"

While the crowds in the stands continued to yell fervently, more than a few on the ground below scoffed or gave strange looks at the announcement that they would again face off against Quan Chi's fighters. It had been a surprise the last time he had sprung it on them; they did not quite know what to make of it now.

Whatever the case, they watched as Quan Chi once more summoned two of his captured souls forth from the green pillars. Fujin recognized them as Smoke and Stryker.

He turned to look at Raiden's reaction; contrary to what he had expected, Raiden was staring stone-faced up at the stage. No sign of recognition passed over his expression at all.

Back up on the stage, Quan Chi met his calloused gaze with a look of smug satisfaction. Deciding not to waste any more of either of their time, Quan Chi gestured to the remaining kontestants.

"Step forth!"

Raiden walked forward without hesitation and without confirmation from Fujin. The wind god began to fear the effects the tournament may have been having on his warrior's mental and emotional state, but for now, all he could do was watch Raiden as he stepped out to accept his challenge.

Quan Chi pointed Raiden out for Stryker. As the former NYPD member descended from the stage, Raiden met his empty gaze with one of his own. He knew Quan Chi had set him up for a fight that was already stacked against him. But Raiden was through trying to think circles around Quan Chi's plans anymore; he was simply going to have to tear through his opponents one by one from now on.

After Quan Chi sent Smoke off, he directed his attention back to Raiden and Stryker and lifted his hand for the signal.

"Round one!" he barked. "Fight!"

Stryker's mindless body worked on autopilot for the first few seconds of their match; not having been too specially trained for hand-to-hand combat in his past life, the soulless Stryker before Raiden could do nothing more than throw a few ineffective punches and kicks, all of which Raiden blocked or redirected effortlessly. But still, Raiden knew what Quan Chi had planned for when he had chosen Stryker, so when the next opportunity arose Raiden pushed one of Stryker's punches out of the way and, with a window to his abdomen open, shoved the former officer back a sizeable distance.

Above, Quan Chi's blackened lips pressed into a thin, impatient line. Sure, the thunder god was making unnerving progress, but Quan Chi knew this kind of situation would be Stryker's moment to shine.

Down on the ground, Stryker, even in his mindless state, also took the situation into account and reached for his semi-automatic. Within moments discarded bullet shells were flying through the air. The sudden noise startled many of the other fighters in the arena, including Smoke's opponent, who was quickly taken care of with a slash to the throat by the former Lin Kuei assassin.

Raiden, thinking quickly before Stryker had even realized to pull out his gun, began a mad dash towards his foe, and propelled himself up into the air with lightning-speed precision before Stryker could catch him in the line of fire. Stryker continued to angle his aim as Raiden began his downward descent, and even as Raiden skidded on the ground towards him Stryker's shot was a split second behind. He still hadn't caught Raiden by the time the latter had slid past him, sticking out his leg to hook Stryker's own, bringing the sharpshooter down to his level. Stunned by the unexpected encounter, Stryker could do little as Raiden wrestled the gun out of his grasp and tossed it away before lifting Stryker with an impressive display of strength and hauling him over his head, smashing the officer's skull into the ground behind him.

The crowd screeched with appreciation as Quan Chi's glare grew hot with animosity for the cunning former deity. Waiting the other kombatants' matches out to the fullest, Quan Chi hissed when he realized in grudging acknowledgement that Stryker would not be picking himself up in the next minute.

"End of round one," he called as the last two fighters finished their first set. He impatiently waited for Stryker to push himself up on his knees before raising his hand for the next signal.

"Round two!" he shouted as Stryker sluggishly pulled himself upright. "FIGHT!"

A haggard-looking Stryker shook his head in an effort to clear the effects of his concussion, which struck Raiden as odd, seeing as it didn't seem like the souls of the former warriors would be familiar with real pain. But apparently it was so, as Stryker looked at Raiden harshly through the one eye he had not shut in blinding pain, and reached for another one of his weapons.

Raiden did nothing but put his fists up defensively. He didn't know if he could pull the same maneuver again, but even if he couldn't… the thought passed quickly through his mind that even if he didn't make it after this point, maybe the fact that he had gotten up to here was enough to spite Quan Chi, and to prove to Fujin that he had indeed done everything within his power to protect Earthrealm. It wouldn't be enough, but still, it had to count for something.

This all flashed through his mind before he recognized the weapon in Stryker's hand. All of Raiden's self-doubt vanquished in that instant.

Stryker was holding a taser.

Raiden's eyes lit up with elation at the same time that Quan Chi's did with shock and dismay. He had completely forgotten Stryker had such a tool in his arsenal. And now the drone was too stupid to realize the kind of opponent against which he was using it.

"No!" Quan Chi shouted out, disregarding his role as mediator in the tournament as he saw another fault in his plan come to fruition. But it was either too late, or Stryker had not heard him.

The next second two retractable wires went flying through the air, with deadly precision for their target. Unbeknownst to Stryker, however, was the fact that their target was anticipating their contact with an open hand.

The two probes landed square in Raiden's palm, and instead of sending him into convulsions like it would any other victim, the two pieces of metal were caught in Raiden's fist. He stood his ground firmly as he once again felt the surge of electricity run through him, several times more powerful as the supply he had received from Sub-Zero. The expression on Stryker's face registered dull surprise as he watched Raiden's eyes light up wildly.

Stryker could do nothing as Raiden sent the charge back the other way through the wire, electrocuting Stryker while Raiden swung the wire around like a jump rope, wrapping a good chunk of it around the stunned Stryker's wrists.

Raiden he yanked the cord harshly, sending a dazed Stryker flying over in his direction. As soon as Stryker was within Raiden's range, the latter drove his fist directly into the former's jaw. When the force from the impact threatened to send Stryker back to where he was originally standing, Raiden jerked on the wire again and had Stryker in his grasp once more. This time, he took Stryker in a chokehold and began driving incapacitating punches to his abdomen. The sound of Stryker's ribs being crushed punctuated the air like a beat, and the crowd continued to go wild as Quan Chi looked on in horror.

On the fourth strike, Raiden wound his fist back as much as he could, and when he brought it forth to hit Stryker again, the impact collided with such force that Raiden was able to tear through Stryker's torso like tissue. The audience continued to applaud in stunned appreciation as Raiden's fist emerged from the other side, his tattered bandages stained dark red as Stryker began to cough up more blood.

Raiden quickly withdrew his arm, and when it came back out, he held in it part of Stryker's liver (or pancreas, he hadn't bothered to check). He quickly charged it with a tightly concentrated surge of electricity and plunged it back into Stryker's abdomen. When he pulled his hand back out, Raiden discreetly managed to swipe the taser from Stryker's hand and hid it in his sleeve.

Stepping back, Raiden watched Stryker sway in place for a moment, stunned and blinded by his pain. But Raiden wasn't done yet. He raised his arms and watched as his former ally's eyes grew in half-hearted fear.

Raiden began summoning the electricity back from Stryker's abdomen, looking at his opponent as he bent over in excruciating pain.

_You want a show, then I will give you your damn show, you bald bastard,_ Raiden thought as he decided upon his next move.

With that he drew his hands back, signaling the instant detonation of Stryker's lightning-charged organs. His torso exploded like a time bomb, and both halves of Stryker's body fell to the ground, lifeless.

Raiden stood still once more as the audience and even some of the other fighters cheered him on fanatically. While his eyes were still ablaze with power, Raiden took the opportunity to look up at Quan Chi. His defiant gaze locked steadily with the sneering necromancer's above for a moment, communicating clearly he no longer feared what Quan Chi had planned for him. Quan Chi's scowl deepened as Raiden turned around and went back to the crowd while Stryker dissipated into green mist. Quan Chi's expression grew dark as he recounted that even though their souls had been sent to the Netherrealm, they now floated freely, out of his domain, and most importantly, useless to him.

Fujin kept his expression even as Raiden took his place at his side.

"That was over fairly quickly," Fujin commented, trying to seem nonchalant.

"It had to be done," Raiden reported bluntly, taking the taser out of his sleeve. "But at least I managed to acquire this."

He fumbled with the gun for a minute as he tried to disassemble each component. Eventually, however, he had to settle for brute force as he broke the cartridge off of the end. He took back the empty box from Sub-Zero that he had entrusted with Fujin before his fight with Stryker and analyzed the battery, trying to see how it would fit in best. Of course, the two didn't match up perfectly, but Raiden played around with the battery some more, testing to see which end could ostensibly be positive or negative. After following the map he had tried to create in his head, Raiden finally placed the battery in a way that produced small blue sparks from the ends of the exposed wires. Smiling, Raiden flipped the section of artificial spinal cord around and pressed the power button that had been installed in case a Lin Kuei operative required an emergency shut-down. He placed his fingers near the tips of the exposed filaments and again was able to produce a strong current of static. He had solved the puzzle.

"Here, Fujin," he directed, pushing his sleeve back and undoing the bandages on his arm. "Help me tie it down."

Fujin apprehensively did as he was told, holding the circuit box in place as Raiden rewrapped the long strips of cloth around his forearm. Now that the wires were constantly in contact with his skin, hopefully Raiden would be able to harness the power from the battery whenever he needed it. Fujin silently applauded his friend for his craftiness, but was also concerned about another issue, which he took the opportunity to address as Raiden fixed himself up.

"Raiden," he started, barely earning a glance from his friend. "Are you faring well?"

Raiden looked back up at him strangely, pausing from tucking in the last of the strip.

"What do you mean?" he asked for clarification.

Fujin let go of his arm, leaving Raiden to finish tying it up himself.

"You entered this competition with reservations, understandably so," Fujin remarked. "But now you fight with seemingly no qualms. You faced Stryker just now as if he were a stranger, and not one of your own men from only so long ago."

Raiden's eyes narrowed.

"I had no choice," he reinforced, waiting for Fujin to get to his point. "Why does this trouble you?"

Fujin looked back directly at him, silently warning Raiden to adapt a less forceful tone of voice. The last thing he needed was to pick a fight with his friend, not now, and _definitely_ not here.

"All I am saying is that is fine if you are upset about the situation. I do not wish for you to suppress your emotions in the name of doing what 'has to be done.' Once you ignore your conscience and instead choose to become nothing more than a machine whose sole operative is to destroy, then you become no better than Quan Chi's soldiers."

He paused as he saw the weight of his statement sink into Raiden. The latter looked away and nodded wordlessly.

"Will you be alright?" Fujin again asked as Raiden continued to avoid his gaze. Raiden again nodded without a sound, making it clear that was all the answer he was willing to give Fujin at the moment.

Fujin sighed and turned back to watch the tie-breaker rounds with him. He remembered he still needed to get back to Johnny somehow, but not in front of Raiden.

He would just have to wait for his next opportunity.

* * *

**I obviously have no idea how tasers work. :D Let's just assume the Lin Kuei happened to build their battery compartments almost exactly the way that would accommodate a battery from one. **

**I was tempted to do a "GET OVER HERE" joke with Raiden and the wire, but I didn't feel like stealing Scorpion's gimmick. So I just referenced one of his fatalities instead.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry, guys; I probably won't be updating as much because I just started art camp, but I'll try to get some of these last chapters out as quickly as I can.**

* * *

Quan Chi tried to keep his anger controlled. He shook with fury as he realized he had just watched Raiden strike down three of his strongest fighters. Even worse, the blasted ex-deity in question was still standing on the ground, waiting with the other kontestants. But Quan Chi knew exactly what was on Raiden's mind as he stood nonchalantly in the crowd.

Brimming with desire for revenge, Quan Chi let loose a psychotic grin and addressed the last competitors.

"Kombatants!" he shouted, earning the attention of everyone in the stands and on the ground. "I congratulate you for making it to the semi-finals! Destiny is truly on your side today!"

As those around him cheered in boastful accordance, Raiden succumbed to indulgence and rolled his eyes at Quan Chi's pandering. He grew impatient with the sorcerer's attempt to buy himself more time. Unfortunately, he could do little as Quan Chi continued to stroke the fighter's egos, obviously in the interest of building them up so that tearing them down would be as spectacular as possible.

"Many of you have proven yourself truly capable fighters on behalf of your realms!" the necromancer continued. "Now only a few obstacles remain in your path. May the Elder Gods be with you during your final challenges." **(A/N: "And may the odds be ever in your favor.")**

Raiden bristled in indignation upon hearing Quan Chi using the Elder Gods' name in vain, ignoring briefly his own resentment towards the same gods and the supportive shouts around him. But he didn't have time to mull over it before Quan Chi made a signal gesturing the only fighters remaining to step forth.

Raiden and the other three kontestants stepped out from the now significantly smaller group (which consisted of the badly battered losers that yet somehow had survived the blood sport). The audience screeched with both support and cries for more violence as Quan Chi leered menacingly down at the group from the stage.

Raiden briefly glanced back to look at Fujin; much to his confusion, his ally was nowhere to be found. Mildly perturbed, but pushing the thought out of his mind to concentrate, Raiden looked back up at Quan Chi.

"Kombatants," the sorcerer called out, causing everyone in front to stand up at attention. He made a dividing gesture down the middle, signaling the split between Raiden and Scorpion. Both faced their respective opponents.

"I wish you the best of luck," Quan Chi commented, with a strong condescending undertone. Raiden prepared himself the second Quan Chi raised his arm, observing his opponent; a lean and imposing warrior with a club on his arm and a swarm of flies following his every movement.

"Round one!" Quan Chi shouted. This time, Raiden would be ready.

"_FIGHT!_"

Raiden immediately charged up a concentration of electricity in his left hand, and even though his opponent wore a mask, he was figuratively shocked at the sight of Raiden's newfound power.

Raiden resolved to make his shock literal as he charged forward.

* * *

Johnny slammed on the brakes as he pulled into an open spot in the hospital parking lot. He disregarded the fact that his car was parked diagonally and the bizarre looks he received as he made a mad dash through the doors and up to Sonya's room. The entire way up his head was swimming with fear, anger at Raiden for betraying their orders, and uncertainty at how he would explain the situation to Sonya.

He ignored the calls from the hospital staff to slow down (luckily he had kept his visitor's pass and didn't need to check in) and continued to run up until he found the hallway that indicated held her room number. He could barely wait to even make it through the doorway, almost shouting out over many nurses' calls for silence during non-visiting hours.

"Sonya!" he exclaimed as he made the turn into her room, flying past the curtain. "Raiden's-"

Johnny couldn't finish his sentence because somebody else was already standing in the room with them. The actor marveled, stunned at the commanding man that stood next to her bedside. For a second, Johnny thought he was looking at a restored Raiden. An instant later the door to the room behind Johnny was shut closed by some invisible force, stunning him.

"Who the hell are you?" Johnny blurted out defensively, ready to fight to protect Sonya if the stranger posed a threat. However, he was calmed down (only slightly) by a weary but more alert Sonya's raised hand.

"Johnny," she interrupted. "It's okay."

Johnny looked at her strangely. How did she know this guy? Were they having a friendly chat before he showed up?

Calmly, their visitor introduced himself.

"I am Fujin, god of wind," he explained. "I am one of Raiden's allies."

That seemed to calm Johnny down a little bit more, but he was still jumpy at the unexpected encounter. Still, he was eager to hear any news about their friend, if this man was truly who he told them he was.

"Where is he?" Johnny demanded.

"Fighting in a tournament in Outworld," Fujin responded. Johnny's eyes bulged out of his head, visible above his skewed sunglasses, which he had forgotten to fix in his frantic hurry.

"He's _what?_" Johnny almost shouted, ignoring the clamor behind him as a confused hospital staff tried to fight their way into the room.

"He is fighting," Fujin repeated. "And winning. There is no need for alarm."

Again this seemed to calm Johnny down. He looked briefly at Sonya, who evidently had been filled in on all of the details before he had arrived. She looked at him expectantly, expecting _what_, Johnny didn't know.

"Well," Johnny responded, trying to make sense of the situation. "What are you doing here, then? Shouldn't you be helping him?"

"He is fine on his own for now," Fujin said. "But he still needs support, especially now, this late in the tournament. Which is why I have returned to retrieve Earthrealm's two other strongest warriors."

Johnny almost felt a weight lift from his chest before he remembered something.

"What about Sonya?" Johnny questioned him. "She's in no shape to do anything."

"Yes, I am," Sonya grunted from her bed, preferring not to be spoken about as if she was some kind of useless vegetable.

"It is true your friend is weak," Fujin stated. "But if you help me, then I can take both of you to see Raiden."

Both Sonya and Johnny perked up at the thought of seeing their friend, even though they were both still furious at him. But they both knew it was more important that they went to help him in any way they could now.

"Johnny," Sonya called out over the doctors' frantic banging on the door. "Get some gauze from that cabinet over there. Hurry."

Johnny did as he was told, quickly aiding Fujin in cushioning Sonya's stitched wound as well as they could. When they were finished, Johnny retrieved Sonya's coat from the chair over which it had been tossed and helped her put in on, sitting her upright. They both looked at Fujin expectantly.

"Let's go," Johnny commanded. Fujin nodded and immediately transported them away in a huge whirlwind.

They vanished before the lock on the door unjammed and the hospital staff came barreling in.

* * *

Raiden panted gruffly as he looked down on his beaten opponent. The Netherrealm oni lay in a crumpled heap in front of him, having been completely unprepared for Raiden's sudden onslaught. Many in the crowds stood still, stunned by the incredible display they had just witnessed. Even Scorpion, having just finished off his opponent as well, had to turn and stare in wonder at the former thunder god's work.

Up on the stage Quan Chi's expression was tight, even as he looked down at the fighters like they were pawns in his little game. Whether Raiden proceeded or not was no matter; the next thing Quan Chi had planned for him would ensure the sorcerer emerged victorious either way.

Behind the crowd of fighters, three figures emerged from a small hurricane. Johnny held Sonya over his shoulder and helped her along as Fujin pushed a way to the front of the crowd for them. Ignoring the protest from the other fighters, Johnny and Sonya clamored to see their friend.

When they managed to get in front of the crowd, both stared slack-jawed at what they saw. To see Raiden now, staring at his foe with those piercing electric blue eyes that radiated unbridled fury, completely oblivious to the splattered blood of his opponent that signaled his victory for all to see, was a far cry from a few hours ago.

"Rai-!" Sonya almost called out before Fujin silenced her.

"No!" he brashly interrupted. "Do not distract him."

Both Sonya and Johnny looked at Fujin in bewilderment, but ultimately heeded his advice and stayed silent. More Tarkatans had come out to take away the bodies of Raiden and Scorpion's vanquished opponents. Quan Chi looked down upon the whole scene as if it were a parade. He smiled forebodingly.

"Kombatants," he called out to an attentive Scorpion and a winded Raiden. "Congratulations. You will now face the most skilled warrior you will encounter in this tournament."

Both fighters left on the ground assumed he meant each other. A determined Raiden turned to face Scorpion, who wore a stern expression on what little was exposed of his face. Raiden glared at him intensely, silently cursing the wraith for ignoring his past warning about killing Sub-Zero and knocking down one of the dominoes that had contributed to a chain of events that left Raiden standing where he was today.

"Ah ah!" Quan Chi called from above, earning the attention of them both. "Neither of you is the warrior of which I speak."

Everybody in the stadium gave Quan Chi confused looks. There was no one else left in the arena.

Quan Chi smiled and continued to explain.

"The winner of this tournament shall be the one who emerges victorious from a duel with one of my own most talented."

Raiden hissed under his breath. Of course the sorcerer would pull a wild card this late in the game.

"You see," Quan Chi continued, much to an already irritated Raiden's chagrin, who wished he would get on with it. "This fighter was bestowed upon me through very… gracious circumstances."

Raiden looked up at Quan Chi through narrowed eyes. Scorpion, too, seemed confused at what Quan Chi was attempting to imply.

"You could say his allegiance to me was a sort of… reward," he continued. "And it has been very rewarding indeed."

Raiden thought hard about whoever it could be to whom Quan Chi was referring.

And then the terrifying realization hit him. So hard that Raiden couldn't speak.

Quan Chi grinned as he looked directly at him, enjoying the thunder god's torment. He was already summoning another fighter from a green smoke pillar, and the audience continued to roar in anticipation of this new challenger.

Raiden, however, was the opposite. He started trembling, earning mocking shouts from many in the stands. Others wondered what could have possibly startled him so badly after the barrage he had unleashed on his last opponent.

Meanwhile Raiden continued to pray frantically to the Elder Gods who may or may not have been listening. He prayed desperately that his intuition was unjustified, that it wouldn't be who he really knew it would. Johnny and Sonya watched puzzled as their friend's willpower seemed to unravel in front of them.

The smoke cleared from the stage, leaving a lone figure standing in its wake, and confirming Raiden's worst fears.

"…_No_."

Emerging from the smoke stood Liu Kang.


	18. Chapter 18

Sonya and Johnny gasped simultaneously. They, too, were shocked to see their former ally standing up on the stage, an air of dull rage sealed into his expression by Quan Chi's spell. But they were nothing compared to Raiden, whose eyes had grown impossibly wide in terror at the sight of his former student.

The audience booed the thunder god for his cowardice as Quan Chi grinned maniacally in sadistic glee. He pointed Raiden out for Liu Kang. The latter robotically began his descent down the stairs of the stage towards his prey.

Raiden stood trapped like a lab rat; realizing Liu Kang was coming closer, he took a step backwards for each one that his pupil took forward.

"No!" Sonya cried out, trying to jump forward to intercept the confrontation.

"Do not move!" Fujin commanded her, gripping her arm and planting her back in her place. Sonya looked back at him, surprised and agitated.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" she demanded.

Fujin looked away, a troubled expression on his face.

"We must let Raiden finish this on his own," he finally said, although he didn't look too much like he wanted to follow his own advice.

In the meantime, Raiden had been stepping as far away from Liu Kang as possible as the zombie shell of the Shaolin warrior advanced slowly, unflinching. Unfortunately, there was only so far that Raiden could go; he continued until he was back in front of the other fighters, leading to one, who was apparently ready for some more violence to help him forget about that which he had suffered, who took it upon himself to shove Raiden back out into the open space of the arena.

Raiden stumbled before looking back up to see Liu Kang staring him down emotionlessly. He stood, locked in the dead gaze of his past ally. As if trembling like a fool wasn't enough, the beat-up Raiden now seemed to be hyperventilating as well, losing him even more points from the crowd. Quan Chi continued to watch in delight.

Liu Kang stood opposite him, wordlessly. Raiden was paralyzed as well, but not for the same reason. He had no idea how he was to make to through this fight; the thought of having to face Liu Kang again, to _defeat _Liu Kang again, was more than he could bear.

Raiden gasped for breath that would hopefully give him strength.

"…Liu Kang," he choked out. The soul of the fallen warrior only blinked in response, reminding Raiden that his attempts to reach out to him may have been in vain, but Raiden pushed forward.

"Liu Kang," he repeated, more assertively this time, but his voice still wavered. "Please, forgive me."

The audience hushed down upon seeing the fighter down in the ring appear to attempt to initiate a conversation. They waited to hear what he had to say. Johnny and Sonya listened attentively as well.

"You were right to criticize me," Raiden continued, even though Liu Kang registered no sign of recognition. "It is because of my foolishness that so many have fallen to misfortune, you included."

Quan Chi sneered, having been hoping that the fight would have started and ended quickly. But he settled for listening to Raiden's pathetic speech.

"This is all my fault," Raiden pressed on, even though his voice began again to falter. "I am deeply sorry."

Liu Kang's face was still blank. There were murmurs in the audience, questioning whether the lightning fighter was losing his mind. Raiden surely felt like that was the case as he continued to look at Liu Kang. Frustrated with the lack of response, Raiden settled for one last-ditch gesture.

"Please, Liu Kang," Raiden croaked out again, dropping to his knees. "Please forgive me."

Raiden bowed down in submission, pressing his forehead against the dirt and placing his hands in front of him to shield his pathetic expression.

"Oh my God," Sonya whimpered from the crowd, tearing up as she witnessed Raiden prostrating himself in front of an unwavering Liu Kang. The rest of the audience had grown completely silent. Even those in the highest of the stands were able to hear Raiden on the ground as he continued to plead for forgiveness.

"Please, Liu Kang," Raiden continued to blubber, muffled by his face down position. "Forgive me."

Not a single sound arose in the entire stadium. The audience watched, entranced by the dramatic display. Quan Chi frowned, wondering both why the thunder god was wasting his time and why Liu Kang had not acted yet.

The silence disheartened Raiden even further. But it was not the audience he cared about; he waited only for a sign of acknowledgement from Liu Kang. A minute passed and he still received no response.

But he did hear a shuffle in the dirt.

A little bit of his hope restored, but still not knowing what to expect, Raiden hesitantly and shakily began to lift himself from the ground, respectfully avoiding eye contact with Liu Kang. But he ached to see Liu Kang's reaction.

And so he looked up.

And the last bit of hope Raiden had left was shattered as Liu Kang drove his foot into his face.

There was a terrifying uproar from the audience as Raiden went flying backwards into the dirt. The crowds continued to howl with approval as Raiden lay motionless on the ground.

"_NO!_" came the screech from the crowd of fighters as Sonya barged out from Fujin's grasp, rushing out into the open to tend to Raiden. Johnny followed in hot pursuit, with a reluctant Fujin trailing after him. Many in the crowds continued to boo the lot of them as Sonya and Johnny flipped Raiden around, causing Sonya to gasp once she saw the blood gushing out from Raiden's broken nose.

"Raiden?" she asked gingerly, ignoring the crowds. "Can you hear me?"

There was little Raiden could do to respond; he could barely look at her through the dirt and blood that clouded his vision. But he managed to emit a weak groan that let her know he was still conscious, but only partially.

"Shit," Johnny remarked once he caught a clear view of Raiden's face. "What do we do now?"

Unfortunately, Sonya was too busy paying attention to their severely battered friend to answer him; not that she would have had the opportunity to do so anyway, because once Quan Chi witnessed the three of them rush out into the open, his eyes lit up like a cat had spotted a mouse. He seized his opportunity now, knowing that Earthrealm's only defenders would not be around to protect her.

"Kombatants!" he cried out once more, earning many puzzled looks on the ground. "I thank you for putting on a spectacular performance today!"

Sticking two gloved fingers into his mouth, Quan Chi then let out a piercing whistle that rung throughout the stadium. Immediately Reptile materialized next to him, and deposited an unknown artifact into the sorcerer's open hand.

"But the true show is about to begin!"

* * *

**Okay, the last line was kind of cheesy. But I do think Quan Chi would ham it up for a situation like this.**


	19. Chapter 19

The ground began to rumble forcefully, prompting many in the crowds to begin panicking and trying to find a way out of the stadium. As a tremor made its way through the east side of the arena, however, it managed to break off a large section of the stands, killing many as the rubble crushed a large chunk of the spectators, stirring even more alarm.

Down on the ground, meanwhile, an already distressed Sonya and frantic Johnny and Fujin tried to shield the half-conscious Raiden from the disorder around them, which was much easier said than done considering several of the other warriors were dashing like mad squirrels around them. There was even more panic as all exits from the stadium were quickly blocked off by spikes that materialized spontaneously from the ground, surrounded by a visible field of Quan Chi's protective black magic.

However, up on stage the sorceror was characteristically reveling in the mayhem. Soon, much like he had anticipated, Shinnok's disembodied head appeared floating next to him. The fallen Elder God also seemed delighted with the chaos he saw.

"You know what to do," he prodded Quan Chi. The latter nodded in confirmation and quickly summoned up a flurry of the green pillars, out from which all of his remaining prized souls stepped, waiting to be instructed. Quan Chi placed the amulet back in Reptile's protection, then grinned maniacally and pointed out into the trapped crowds, ordering all of them to kill. His slaves obeyed without hesitation, dashing out and immediately slaughtering many of the first warriors they encountered while others made their ways into the stands.

"Oh, shit!" Johnny exclaimed as he dashed down towards Sonya's side.

"Come on!" he urged her as Fujin attempted to give them a buffer zone in the midst of the clamor. "We gotta get outta here!"

"No!" Sonya objected, frantic but still clinging to Raiden. "We can't just…"

She was cut off by a shrieking war cry off to their left; they turned and looked in horror as Liu Kang came flying through the air at them both, having used their moment of temporary self-distraction. They had no time to prepare themselves, but through some miracle were both saved when Raiden suddenly pushed Johnny off in one direction and threw himself and Sonya into the other, leaving Liu Kang to attack a bare patch of dirt with his fists blazing. Apparently Liu Kang's piercing call had shocked Raiden out of his stupor quickly enough for him to recall his surroundings and get all of them out of harm's way. For now.

He and Sonya skidded in the dirt for a second before landing next to each other. Sonya sat up as Raiden tried unsuccessfully to quickly wipe the dirt and blood off of his face.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, even in the middle of the chaos they were all facing. Sonya didn't have time to respond before a huge metal arm came crashing down between the two of them, forcing Sonya to roll away from her partner.

She regained her footing quickly, gnashing her teeth at the foe who had dared to make her lose Raiden again. But her fierce expression quickly melted as she saw Jax standing in front of her, with the same blank eyes that Liu Kang had. He was eerily calm despite the mayhem around them. Despite herself, Sonya panicked; she knew it wasn't really Jax, but instinct still compelled her not to attack her commander. Nevertheless, it was Jax who initiated the next move, charging at her with both arms raised for attack.

Somehow Sonya managed to dart away at the last second, leaving Jax running towards empty space. Much to her dismay, however, the soul of her former C.O. managed to dig his heels into the ground and quickly corrected his course, coming back swinging at Sonya. She was able to duck in time, but continued to remain light on her feet as Jax kept lunging at her.

At some point, Sonya stepped too far back and bumped into somebody else in the crowd. She was caught by surprise when whoever it was latched onto her arms from behind and kept her planted. Initially, Sonya thought it had to be one of the other souls, keeping her rooted so she would be an easy target for Jax. But then she heard her captor speak.

"Did ya miss me, baby?" came the sleazy and all-too-familiar Australian drawl that sent instinctual shivers down Sonya's spine. She snapped her head around, confirming her worst fears as she indeed saw Kano grinning at her malevolently as he held her in his grasp.

Sonya didn't have time to come up with a response as she realized Jax was charging at her again. She took into account her only option quickly, and ducked as Jax's bionic arm came swinging for her head. Kano, evidently not having even noticed Jax was part of this conflict, had no time to save himself as the metal in Jax's arm crashed against his face plate, crushing his skull and sending him flying backwards, unintentionally setting Sonya free.

Sonya dropped to the ground and noticed Jax scanning the crowd, confused. Normally, she would have pondered the irony in the fact that in a way Kano had just saved her from Jax, but as it was, she took her opportunity to dash in the other direction, hoping she would be able to find any of her teammates in this mess.

Meanwhile, Johnny was fending off some attackers of his own. He dodged and weaved, surprising himself by managing to get in a good sucker punch or two every once in a while. Even as the chaos around him grew, he couldn't help but compliment himself mentally, up until the point he swirled around and a punch from a mind-controlled Kabal sent Johnny and his sunglasses flying in two completely different directions. Johnny stumbled for a bit, trying to reorient himself. Then he noticed the glasses smashed in the dirt.

He looked dumbfounded back at Kabal, who stood there waiting to be challenged.

"…Those were _$600_ sunglasses,asshole!" Johnny cried out, giving himself all the motivation he needed as he lunged at his attacker.

In another section of the crowd, Raiden was busy trying not to get crushed between all of the warriors that had targeted him. Sindel and Jade had him from both sides, and Scorpion was hot on his trail as well. Raiden guessed Quan Chi had struck some kind of alliance with the yellow-clad ninja; it figured the sorcerer had them all out for his blood.

Somehow, Quan Chi had managed to equip Jade with her _b__ō_, giving her considerable advantage as she attempted to bring Raiden down from a distance. Luckily for Raiden, she was not the only one who was experienced with staff styles. As soon as he could, Raiden landed a grab on the stick and held it completely still, rendering Jade's attempts to bring it back under her control useless. Once she stopped struggling to look back at Raiden, the latter, allowing Jade to keep her grip on the staff, jabbed it forcefully back in her direction, bashing her end of the weapon against her head three times, effectively stunning her enough to send her stumbling backwards, now leaving the bō in Raiden's grip.

A banshee's scream sounded from behind Raiden, quickly alerting him to Sindel's presence. He rolled out of the way before the former queen could land a sucker punch on him, but in the process opened himself up for an attack from Scorpion, who came in with his _mugai ryu_ swinging over his head. Luckily, the metal plating on Jade's staff offered Raiden some protection as Scorpion's sword came down, now leaving the latter open for Raiden to kick him in the torso, driving the ninja back a few feet. Raiden swung his legs back and used the momentum to spring himself back up. It soon proved to be a smart move; had he dropped the staff to get up, he would not have been prepared for Sindel's assault from his left. Raiden managed to sidestep her as she swung blindly, and when the opportunity presented itself, Raiden slammed the metal portion of the staff against her back, then her ribcage, and finally the back of her head, sending her to the ground and putting her out of commission.

And then there was one. Raiden swirled around, trying to catch a glimpse of where Scorpion was, but the Netherrealm fighter was nowhere to be found in the midst of the crowd's clamor. Raiden kept a wary eye out for his opponent, holding the staff out to keep everyone else at a safe distance. He briefly thought he had lost Scorpion; he had half a mind to go look for Johnny and Sonya before he heard the crackle of flames behind him.

Raiden turned around quickly enough to catch Scorpion right before a blazing kunai came shooting towards his face. Instinctually, Raiden twirled the staff in a rapid succession of circular motions, and even though a bit of the tips of his hair ended up getting singed, he was able to successfully deflect the knife and catch it on the staff, wrapping it in its own chain. He looked up to see Scorpion's dumbfounded expression as the ninja's knife rested on Raiden's side of their battle. Raiden stared him down and took the opportunity for some revenge of his own.

"_Get over here!"_ Raiden roared at Scorpion, yanking the Shirai Ryu clan member back in his direction and stabbing the end of the staff into his opponent's eye once he was within range, leaving Scorpion howling in pain as Raiden made a large sweeping gesture with the staff and swung it under Scorpion's feet, bringing his enemy down where he was helpless to prevent Raiden from kicking him in the ribs and sending him in the other direction.

Raiden panted as he tried to recall any other possible threats in the vicinity. He had taken out Jade, Sindel, and Scorpion, and the other lost souls were off combating others in the arena, so that left him with no one…

Again he heard the sizzling of flames behind him, momentarily confusing him; there was no way Scorpion could have gotten behind him again so quickly! Nevertheless, Raiden turned around again, and to his horror saw Liu Kang coming down towards him from the air, his fists ablaze as he locked in on his target.

Caught off guard, Raiden clumsily held the staff up horizontally to block the impact; but not even the tangled chain from the kunai offered enough support to the staff to prevent Liu Kang from chopping it clean in two, leaving a stunned Raiden open for an unexpected roundhouse kick that knocked him back into the dirt, now without a weapon.

Raiden forced himself to open his eyes, even though they stung with dirt and sweat and he was back on the verge of unconsciousness. But in the split second he managed to keep them open, he saw Liu Kang approach him slowly and robotically, creating a jarring juxtaposition against the chaos of the arena. Thinking quickly of his only option left, Raiden closed his eyes again, hoping that Liu Kang had not caught a glimpse of him awake.

Raiden played dead until he thought Liu Kang was over him. He waited for a signal that would alert him to some kind of opportunity.

Nothing happened for a moment, although Raiden could still hear frantic shouting from the crowds as the massacre continued. But he focused on his own ploy, still waiting for a response from Liu Kang.

One came when he felt Liu Kang grab for his robe collar, with what intent Raiden did not know; probably to bring the supposedly dead fighter back to Quan Chi as a reward. All Raiden knew was that it gave him an opportunity to snap out of his fake stupor and drive a hard right hook into the shocked Liu Kang's cheek, forcing the former Shaolin warrior to stumble sideways as Raiden made his escape into the crowd.

All the while Quan Chi stood up on the platform overlooking the crowd, becoming displeased with what he saw. He had lost visual of the thunder and wind gods and Blade, and the only member left of Earthrealm's team, Cage, was actually holding his own against Kabal. Somehow, even this late in the game, with the odds stacked against them, the Earthrealm fighters were still managing to pull through.

"Quan Chi!" came the bark to his side. Closing his eyes in frustration, Quan Chi turned to look at his superior, who was clearly as disappointed with the tide of events as he was.

"This has gone on long enough!" Shinnok roared impatiently, causing Quan Chi to cringe.

"And what do you expect me to do, Lord Shinnok?" the necromancer retorted with more force than he had intended, leaving him slightly fearful as he awaited Shinnok's response. The former Elder God visibly fumed with indignation, but then seemed to calm down.

"I expect you," he responded surprisingly calmly, with a wicked grin on his face. "To call in reinforcements."

Quan Chi raised an eyebrow, then nodded as Shinnok's insinuation clicked in his head. He smiled as well before taking out a potion from his belt and pouring its contents on the ground. Quan Chi then began a chant in an unknown language, causing the spilled liquid to glow and grow in diameter, until it reached a size of about ten feet across. A group of peculiar forms began to rise from the magical puddle, growing and mutating into more humanistic shapes. After a minute, about ten undead warriors stood up on the stage, awaiting command from the master that had revived them. They wore non-revealing gear and masks, but the parts of them that were visible revealed scaly skin and inhuman claws, and some had tails that poked out from beneath the wraps of their robes.

Down below, Reptile managed to weave out of the frenzied crowd and climb up onto a pile of rubble that had collected when part of the stands collapsed, giving him a clear view over everybody else fighting on the ground. He looked out, back up to the stage, and recognized the group of warriors that was now standing with Quan Chi and Shinnok.

Everything else around Reptile faded away into insignificance as he recognized his people. Zaterrans, standing up on the stage, tangible members of his clan that he thought had been lost forever. And now a small army of them was rushing off the stage, with more stepping forth from Quan Chi's portal. Reptile witnessed the miracle until Quan Chi produced no more soldiers, signaling for the portal to close.

Instinctually, Reptile cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a hissing cry that was immediately recognizable to his clan, catching their attention and allowing them to see their brother up on the rubble. Many hissed back in solidarity, and Reptile bounded off of the debris, rushing to meet his family.

Unfortunately, this action did not go unnoticed by his superiors up on the platform. Shinnok stirred with fury.

"Reptile!" he shouted, stopping the Zaterran in his tracks as he heard his name. "This is not a family reunion! Go back out there and do your duty!"

Reptile looked up, confused. He was torn between rushing back to his clan and following his orders.

But then he remembered the amulet.

Reptile quickly dug it out from a secret pocket and observed it. If what Quan Chi had told him was correct, then this object had to ability to teleport people and destabilize the borders between the realms.

Well, the Zaterrans were here now. And Reptile was not about to let them go back.

Making sure both Quan Chi and Shinnok up on the stage could see, Reptile held the amulet over his head. The eyes of both on stage grew frantically, Shinnok because he knew what Reptile planned to do, and Quan Chi because he knew Shinnok would not react well.

"Reptile!" Shinnok roared in warning, but it was too late. Reptile had already made up his mind.

Behind him, before he brought the amulet down, Sonya stumbled backwards into somebody after being violently shoved away. She looked around, and much to her surprise, was elated to see Johnny.

"Johnny!" she cried out, catching his attention. "Where's Raiden?"

"I don't know!" he cried back, focusing on throwing his opponent back out of the way. "I can't find Fujin, either!"

Unbeknownst to them, however, Raiden was only a few feet to their side as they quarreled, checking back to see if he had thrown Liu Kang off of his trail. As he scanned the crowd, he saw Johnny and Sonya back-to-back as they teamed up to take on their opponents. Right in front of them, he could see Reptile holding something in his upheld hand, an object that glinted in the light of the fires that had begun to rage within the arena, with a striking green core. Raiden immediately recognized the relic as the amulet that he had only narrowly managed to take back from Shinnok so many centuries ago.

Now he witnessed Reptile as he brought the talisman down, watching the emerald shatter into hundreds of microscopic pieces, rendering its power null.

The next thing Raiden heard was Shinnok's roar of disbelief and protest, his expression furious. The eyes of the floating Elder God's head began to glow violently, prompting Quan Chi to attempt to stop his partner.

"Lord Shinnok, no!" he shouted, trying to distract the raging deity. Even though Quan Chi knew it was only a replica that Reptile had just destroyed, he couldn't afford to have Shinnok go on a rampage and destroy anything else at this point. "Please!"

His protest fell on deaf ears; Shinnok's eyes grew ablaze with fury, and the next second brilliant beams of energy shot forth from his sockets, sending warriors on the ground flying in different directions as they narrowly avoided getting hit by the attack that was meant for Reptile.

But Shinnok had dangerously underestimated Reptile's reaction time, and the Zaterran warrior jumped out of the way before the beam could make contact with him, leaving Johnny and Sonya directly in the line of fire.

Raiden didn't know if he cried out when he saw his friends in danger, but he knew what it was that drove him forward in order to try and save them. One order, the one task he had given himself that commanded him to guard them.

_Protect Earthrealm._

It was the only thing that went through Raiden's head as he shoved both of his companions aside and bore the full brunt of the blast himself, burning clear through his robes and a good number of layers of skin. The impact sent Raiden flying backwards through the air and skidding violently on the ground, taking off more of the skin on his arms and back, which was now exposed from being torn away by friction.

There was more frenetic shouting from the crowds who had just witnessed Shinnok's display of power, but none so bloodcurdling as the shrieking _"NOOOOO!"_ let out by Sonya as she saw her friend lay lifelessly in the dirt. She and Johnny were met with little resistance as they shoved their way towards their friend, while off to their side Reptile bounded off and got lost in the crowd in order to find his clan members.

As everyone in the arena cleared out, the three of them were left as clearly in the ring as if a giant target had been painted around them. Sonya didn't notice any of this as she frantically checked for a response from Raiden. She received none.

However, up on stage Quan Chi's eyes lit up with elation at the sight of the thunder god having finally been struck down. Now all that was left were his two companions.

"Shinnok!" he cried out, pointing in their direction. "Right there! Finish them!"

"Do not tell me what to do!" Shinnok retorted angrily, nonetheless charging up another attack, more powerful in order to take out the multiple targets. There was more shouting as the energy exploded from Shinnok's eyes once more, but neither he nor Quan Chi anticipated Fujin's sudden materialization in front of his allies. The wind god teleported his comrades and himself away in a whirlwind before the beam had a chance to connect, leaving it to singe the empty ground where the Earthrealm warriors had been a split second ago.

Quan Chi swore loudly, and again after he realized he had lost Reptile. His anger was short-lived as Mileena suddenly latched herself onto his back and immediately began gnawing like a madwoman at his neck, presumably as retribution for attempting to overthrow her authority in her own (father's) arena. Unfortunately for her, Quan Chi drew out his broadswords and managed to cut her deep enough to make her stop, giving him an opportunity to grab her and throw her off over his head.

Liu Kang's soul stood wordlessly on the ground, standing still even as people rushed by his side in an attempt to escape. His expression was still a default blank, but it was clear he had just witnessed what had happened with Raiden and the others.

It was enough to make something click inside, and it made the former Shaolin warrior latch on to one of Quan Chi's Tarkatan foot soldiers and push him back into the open space. There wasn't even a chance for a fight as Liu Kang made an unforeseen flaming swing for the minion's head, killing him instantly.

In another spot in the crowd, Kitana saw Liu Kang's actions from afar. Somewhere in the floating, hazy mist that was her and the others' subconscious, something signaled a change within her. She, too, began to turn against her own allies as everybody else in the stadium continued to run around in their mad panic.

* * *

**It's so long, I know. :( I'm sorry I haven't updated, art camp took a long time. But I'll definitely be finishing this soon. (The Kano cameo was for you, ShadowForceSilver. ;) )**

**And I finally gave in and did the 'Get over here' joke. The situation just called for it. :P**


	20. Chapter 20

Somewhere outside the arena, Fujin was able to deposit himself and the others, away from the contained chaos of the stadium. He, Johnny, Sonya and Raiden materialized next to a large rock structure bordering one of the few small villages dotting the otherwise barren Outworld landscape.

Having been transported without warning, Johnny and Sonya didn't have time to correct their course when they fell, causing Sonya to drop Raiden. Neither stopped to brush the dirt off of themselves; as soon as they reoriented their surroundings, Sonya lunged back for their friend.

"Raiden?" she cried, observing the damage, which was much more severe than she would have liked to admit. Shinnok's attack had left the skin on Raiden's chest searing, and worn down to the point where the tips of some of his ribs were exposed. Sonya gasped in shock.

"Raiden?" she asked again worriedly, physically turning his head to look at her. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be conscious. At this point Johnny had come over to help her try and snap Raiden out of his stupor, while Fujin watched over the three of them, disheartened.

"Ray?" Johnny prodded along with her. "Can you hear us?"

"Raiden?" Sonya asked yet again, her voice straining with concern. "Raiden, please say something."

Even though his eyes were only slightly open, Raiden didn't respond. Sonya's heart rate shot through the roof with alarm, causing her to look at Johnny, who seemed equally frightened.

Suddenly, and very briefly, their fears were slightly settled as Raiden managed to twitch his fingers, a small sign of hope in their dark situation.

"Yeah?" Johnny encouraged him. "Come on, Raiden. You can do this."

But Raiden, obviously straining with the effort, only managed to lift his hand enough to put it over Sonya's arm. The look he gave her was not comforting to either her or Johnny, and when he tried to speak both were startled by how weak his voice was as he struggled to talk through the incapacitating pain.

"…Sonya," came the unnervingly fragile voice that alerted her to his dire condition, and the fact that this was much more severe than when they had found him at the studio.

"Oh, God, no," Sonya whined upon hearing him speak, pulling Raiden closer so that his head rested more comfortably on her lap. Acknowledging that it would be easier for him to be heard, Raiden attempted to speak again, his voice even frailer, an obvious sign that he was running out of time.

"…I have tried to fix my mistakes," he commented flatly. It seemed this was all he could manage to spit out, stirring panic in Sonya and Johnny. Their fears were only stalled when Raiden managed to add one more thing.

"…I am sorry."

Sonya felt the arm he had on her hand go slack, causing her to panic again.

"Raiden, no!" she barked, startled, trying anything to get him to come back. "Don't be! Raiden!"

She continued to shout at him as Johnny joined in with her, both attempting to revive their ailing comrade.

"Raiden!"

"Raiden, come on!"

"Don't be sorry!"

"Come on, Ray!"

"Raiden!" Sonya cried out again, counter-intuitively placing a hand on his exposed skin in the vain hope that the pain would shock him awake. She could only watch with a heavy heart as her gesture had no effect, Raiden's eyes continuing to cloud over.

"Raiden!" she whimpered, trying one last ditch attempt to get a message to him. "Don't be sorry. This isn't your fault. Can you hear me?"

He registered no sign of response as he continued to slip away, his gaze still locked into dead space.

"None of this was your fault, Raiden. Okay?" Sonya implored, even though she knew it was unlikely he could hear her by this point. But she was desperate to hang on to the last shred of hope she had left.

"…Don't be sorry," she said again, with Johnny looking at her nervously. Her voice was breaking.

"…Raiden?"

There was silence. The stillness unnerved Johnny, spurring him to grab Raiden's shoulders in a frantic, last-ditch attempt.

"Raiden!" he barked angrily at their friend, trying to shake him before being stopped by a hysterical Sonya.

"No!" she cried out at him, pushing him back and holding Raiden more tightly. She breathed heavily, looking back at Fujin as tears started to brim in her eyes.

"Fujin," she said, in a voice that she could barely push above the tone of a whisper. She thought of how Raiden had been able to heal Jax back when she had busted him out of Goro's prison. "Please help him."

Fujin's face was stony, having witnessed her and Johnny's tries to bring Raiden back from the brink. The wind god walked solemnly over to where they were situated, kneeling down to observe his fallen friend.

"Please," Sonya repeated as she began to shake with nerves. "Do something. Anything."

Fujin looked gravely at Raiden's face. Finally, in a tone heavy with despair, he responded to her plea.

"…There is nothing I can do."

The statement hit both of them hard, especially Sonya, whose last bit of hope was shattered.

He was gone.

Raiden was dead.

Even though there were still shrieks of terror that could be heard from the arena hundreds of feet away, it couldn't reach Sonya and Johnny as they struggled to comprehend what had just happened in front of them. Sonya's grip tightened and loosened awkwardly on Raiden as Johnny shifted uncomfortably, turning his head away as he acknowledged that not only had he lost what he could honestly say was one of the only true friends he had in his life, but that his death majorly entailed everyone else's downfall as well. For the first time ever, it seemed he was struggling to blink back tears, while Sonya had given up her struggle to do the same. She pulled Raiden's body closer in a morbid sort of hug, waiting until her face was out of sight to begin sobbing softly into his collarbone. She thought of everything Raiden had struggled to do, and how this entire time he had done nothing but fight and continuously put himself in harm's way just to fix his mistakes and help others, only for it all to be in vain. Fujin watched wordlessly.

He allowed the two of them to mourn in relative silence before speaking up again.

"We must go," he urged softly, still looking at Raiden. "I need to help others out of the arena."

His command caused Sonya to pull her head back up, revealing her dirt and tear-stained visage. Her eyes, the bloated bags beneath them, and her nose were red and glistening underneath the dirt as she continued to snivel, making no effort to stop herself. On Johnny's face, too, was evidence of where he had tried to wipe tears away.

Fujin stood up and observed the lot of them, calculating what to do next.

"Come. Bring the body around here," he instructed, taking Raiden up in his arms with Johnny and Sonya's help and walking around to an inconspicuous side of the rock formation, where they collectively deposited Raiden's corpse.

They all stepped back to look at Raiden one more time. It gnawed at Sonya and Johnny that even in death, Raiden's expression still looked troubled at the fact that he would never be able to set things right.

Fujin noted both of their expressions. They were obviously dejected, visibly depressed and despairing over their loss. Under normal circumstances, Fujin would not force them back into a situation in which they clearly would not be able to fight properly, but they were running out of time.

He silently took them back to the arena. The brush of wind only barely managed to drown out Sonya's sobbing.

* * *

**:(**


	21. Chapter 21

**I went back and made some minor corrections to Chapter 19, so a small detail here would probably make more sense if that one was reread. :) On with the show.**

* * *

The chaos in the arena had only escalated in their absence. Since Fujin had disappeared, the onlookers desperate for a way out had been trapped, and subsequently massacred by Quan Chi's forces. Hundreds lay dead as hordes of Tarkata, along with the resurrected souls, lay waste to everything in sight.

However, down in the ring, Quan Chi's forces had not yet as a whole registered that two of their own had turned against them. Liu Kang and Kitana continued on their path, tearing through their targets with ease. Back up on the platform, Quan Chi remained oblivious to their defection as he remained focused on taking down Baraka, who had attacked him once he saw his queen literally get overthrown. Unfortunately for him, Quan Chi gained the upper hand, slicing off both of Baraka's arms and kicking him over the edge to meet Mileena at the bottom of the steps.

Quan Chi delighted in his small victory before he was distracted by an anomaly on the other side of the arena. He could see Fujin and his two warriors materializing in the stands, and immediately noticed that Raiden was not with them, causing Quan Chi to break out in an even bigger grin.

He had done it! He had finally killed the thunder god!

His elation was short-lived as someone began barking at him to his side.

"Quan Chi!" Shinnok roared furiously. Evidently he knew Fujin and the others were back, too, given that his next comment was, "Now is not the time to count your victories. Do you realize what you have done?"

Quan Chi whirled around at his master's accusation.

"What I have done?" he responded in frantic disbelief. "I have brought _your_ plans to fruition, _that_ is what I have done!"

"You have done _nothing_ of the sort!" Shinnok shouted back at him in indignation. "Even now, your forces desert you. Look!"

Quan Chi looked back down at the crowd and finally took note of Liu Kang and Kitana's rebellion; even worse, Jax and Kung Lao had also realized what was going on and were just standing there confused, disobeying Quan Chi's orders to continue killing. There was no trace of the Zaterrans.

Quan Chi didn't know why he was losing his grip on his warriors, but he struggled to come up with a defense, even as Shinnok continued to reprimand him.

"It was because of _your_ damned Zaterran henchman that my amulet was destroyed!" Shinnok lambasted him. "Now we are losing our dominion over them! As soon as the realm borders stabilize again, they will be gone from our command!"

Unexpectedly, Quan Chi began to laugh, a low, rumbling chuckling at first, then breaking out into full-blown cackling as Shinnok looked at him in confused annoyance. What he didn't know was that Quan Chi had had it; he was through concealing his every move and motive, he was through with this ridiculous tournament, and he was _through_ with taking orders from a false god.

"What is it? !" Shinnok demanded.

"They will not 'stabilize again,' _my lord,_" Quan Chi blurted out between insanity-fueled bouts of laughter, with a sarcastic emphasis placed on the last two words. "They were not damaged in the first place. Did you really think I was stupid enough to give that overgrown lizard the amulet?"

Shinnok looked at him in bewilderment, demanding an explanation.

"What are you talking about?" he shouted back angrily. Much to his horror, he witnessed Quan Chi take something metallic with an emerald core at the center out of his belt pouch. Shinnok immediately realized his mistake in trusting the Netherrealm sorcerer.

"This!" Quan Chi roared smugly as he held the treasured artifact out, up for the entire stadium and the heavens to see.

* * *

"_It has come to this."_

_Although he is bewildered, he has no body with which to express his alarm._

"_Through it all you continued to persevere, despite our warning."_

_The situation feels familiar; then he realizes he can feel the same pressure of their judgmental gaze that he remembers from before. He is back in undefined space, the floating plane of consciousness._

"_Quan Chi and Shinnok have destabilized the realm borders," they continue to chant in unison. "If they are not stopped, they will attempt to merge the realms."_

_He is simultaneously relieved and shocked at the fact that he can once again hear. However, since he cannot speak, he resignedly decides to listen to what they have to say._

"_However," the Elder Gods continue. "We sense a change in the tides. Shinnok's forces were not organized; they have turned against each other and are falling into disarray."_

_He begins to feel hope at their words, but he waits to see why they have brought him back. He knows he did not survive, and he also does not know for what purpose they revived him, and so he remains wary._

"_Fujin is but one being," they go on. "He is trying everything he can, but the realms are still in danger. Order continues to break down. It must be restored at once, before it is too late."_

_They pause. He waits, partially out of respect and partially to spite them, even though he feels he knows what they are about to ask him, a feeling which restores a bit more of his faith._

"_You are obviously very attached to Earthrealm," he can hear their voices point out. "You were willing to die for her, even when the task of her safety was left in another's hands."_

_He begins to feel hope again as the insinuation grows stronger. He waits eagerly for them to continue._

"_Her defender's numbers are dwindling. She needs another protector, now."_

_His non-existent heart floats with anticipation._

"_Are you willing to fight for her once more, Raiden?"_

_His qualms settled, Raiden feels his resolve strengthen. He knows they probably already expect his answer, but he wants to make perfectly clear his dedication to his rekindled duty._

"…I am."

* * *

Quan Chi continued laughing and grinning in maniacal delight, holding the amulet up even higher despite Shinnok's protest, causing the already turbulent skies to react even more violently to his magic. Shinnok was powerless as a literal talking head, and only watched in horror along with the others in the stadium, who saw Quan Chi as he began to gloat about his new authority over the realms. Those who had not been slaughtered yet, and even those who were working for the necromancer, began to falter as they realized they would be subjugated to a new tyrannical ruler.

Which was why no one, especially Quan Chi, expected the lightning bolt that crashed down upon the stage, hitting its target with pinpoint precision. The amulet shattered into hundreds of pieces, and Quan Chi's skin seared as his glove had been burned off, causing the sorcerer to step back reflexively, his expression melting into disbelief at what had just happened. And this time, there was no back-up.

Already the open portals on stage swallowed themselves closed, signaling the skies to end their violent seizure. In similar flashes of light, the souls of the fallen were taken, and when the blinding aura died down, all of the souls that Quan Chi had taken as his own were restored: Liu Kang, Kitana, Kung Lao, Sindel, Jade, and all of the other leftover fighters remained glued to where they stood, now flesh and blood and stunned by what was happening. In the ground, a small portal quickly opened up and spat out a confused Nightwolf, Stryker, and human Sub-Zero. As the fleeting joy that resulted overtook those fighting off Quan Chi's Tarkatan forces, spurring them to fight back, Sonya and Johnny looked to the stage, and then briefly to each other. There was no way… was there?

They didn't have time to speculate on what it could have been; another brilliant bolt of lightning touched down on the stage, sending Quan Chi stumbling even farther back, to many cheers from the crowd. This time, the lightning brought something with it, and once the blinding flare died down Sonya and Johnny looked back in thrilled amazement.

Emerging from the flash stood a fully restored Raiden, seven feet of vengeful thunder incarnate, staring a shaken Quan Chi down from glaring white eyes. Static coursed over his towering frame, and his hat topped off his easily recognizable silhouette all the way from the stands.

"Quan Chi," Raiden boomed, clearly eliciting the attention of everyone in the audience. His voice had become compounded with those of the Elder Gods, and caused Quan Chi to tremble cowardly even more than he already was.

"You have upset the order between the realms," Raiden and the Elder Gods continued to speak in unison. "You will face punishment for your actions."

"Aw, yeah!" Johnny called from the stands. "Raiden's back, bitches!"

Panicking, Quan Chi grabbed one of his broadswords with his good hand, and immediately tried to slice for Raiden's chest. Naturally, Raiden raised one of his arms in defense, effortlessly blocking Quan Chi's assault as the metal bounced off of Raiden's arm guards. A fearful Quan Chi could do nothing as Raiden grabbed his other arm, twisting it a full one hundred and eighty degrees before breaking it backwards at the joint. The sorcerer howled bloody murder, much to the joy of those who were free to cheer in the stands.

But Raiden wasn't done yet. He brought his knee up quickly, crushing the ribcage of the much smaller man. Quan Chi was fully incapacitated now, and was powerless to stop Raiden as the thunder deity effortlessly lifted the broken sorcerer above his head like a ragdoll. Everyone in the stadium could clearly see Quan Chi in his final moments, before Raiden charged him with an immeasurable amount of divine electricity. Quan Chi flailed helplessly as his skin was electrocuted off, right before the charge became too much for his frame to bear and he exploded in Raiden's blood-soaked hands. There was even more cheering at the display of raw power that had eradicated the onlookers' formerly potential dictator.

Ignoring the deafening sign of appreciation from the crowd, Raiden turned to his next adversary. Shinnok's floating visage stared back at him, dumbfounded that the thunder god had been resurrected. But Shinnok thought he could find safety in the fact that he was not physically there, and took the opportunity to taunt Raiden.

"So," he remarked dryly. "The Elder Gods were too weak to face me themselves. Serves that they would send out a failure of a protector god as a last ditch attempt. Tell me, Raiden, how does it feel to fulfill a useless duty for superiors who turn their back on you when you need them the most? And yet you continue to serve them?"

Unfortunately for him, Raiden was no longer falling for his opponents' psychological ploys.

"I guess you could say I am a bit of a workaholic," Raiden retorted, this time in his own voice. This incised Shinnok enough to the point that his eyes glowed with fury once more, and he released two more beams of energy towards Raiden's spot. He didn't expect Raiden to teleport out of the way in a burst of lightning, and was unable to pinpoint his foe's location. Within a split second, Raiden was behind Shinnok's floating head, and a series of lightning bolts illuminated the disembodied cranium from behind. Shinnok's eyes grew wide with shock, and he whirled around to look at Raiden, who blinded him with electricity. In a last ditch move, Shinnok recalled his avatar from Outworld, leaving behind a swirling portal that resulted as an unavoidable side effect of the summoning spell. Seizing his opportunity, Raiden jumped into the vortex, knowing it would lead him to wherever Shinnok was. The portal closed up behind him as he exited, leaving no one up on the stage.

A stunned silence washed over the audience. Many began to murmur nervously, unsure of the two gods' fates. Sonya and Johnny looked at each other in alarm, hoping that they had not just lost Raiden again after everything they had been through. Anxious, they both decided to head down into the ring, figuring they would wait by the steps (if anything else happened).

Another tense minute passed. Some in the crowd were able to come to their senses in the meantime, and helped bring the Tarkata under control, while some actively sought each other out in the calm that followed the hours of disarray.

"Liu Kang!"

The disoriented but now normal Shaolin warrior looked for whoever had called his name. He could see Kitana pushing her way through the crowd towards him. He panicked, unsure of what to say.

Even though they were both plenty battered, physically and emotionally, that didn't stop Kitana from approaching Liu Kang with a smile. She brushed some loose hair out of her face before speaking.

"Well," she said. "These certainly are different circumstances."

Her familiar words clicked in Liu Kang's memory, and the Shaolin monk smiled as he offered her a more than diplomatic hug.

Johnny and Sonya, meanwhile, waited at the foot of the stage for Raiden. They briefly exchanged glances every now and then, anticipating their friend's return. But another minute passed. And then another.

Sonya's expression began to falter. Johnny caught this and quickly tried to reassure her.

"Just give him another minute," he tried to convince her. Another passed, and soon Johnny began to have his doubts as well.

Suddenly the air became tinged with static once more. The change in atmosphere was most readily evident to those closest to the stage, who looked up in expectation. From a small swirl of purple energy on top came another brilliant flash of light, which grew into the shape of a man. It took a second for everyone to recover from having to shield their eyes, but all in the crowd dropped their hands eagerly to see who had emerged victorious.

Much to Sonya, Johnny, and the other Earthrealm warriors' delight, Raiden stood at the top of the arena stage, holding something in his hand. He lifted it up to reveal a normal-sized Shinnok's severed head, an expression of complete and utter shock cemented into his face the second he had been vanquished.

Raiden let the skull drop emphatically onto the ground. When he spoke, his voice was singular, heavy with the effort exerted but steady with restored confidence.

"…It is over."

He was met with a jubilant explosion of approval from everyone in the arena.

* * *

**This is Mortal Kombat, you guys. Death is a slap on the wrist. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

The crowd continued to celebrate their reclaimed freedom as several of the warriors on the ground made their ways to the stage. Many looked up in admiration at their impromptu savior, prompting those who recognized Raiden in his original form, such as Sub-Zero and Nightwolf, to drop to one knee and bow in respect. Many of the others, including Kitana and even Scorpion, followed suit.

Raiden surveyed the fighters on the ground briefly. He was searching for a particular pair of faces, which emerged from the crowd immediately as the blonde yanked the movie star behind her along. Sonya and Johnny looked up at Raiden in awe, prompting the latter to give them a warm smirk in return, despite himself. Soon, they too were on one knee each out of deference for their friend.

Deeming the sign unnecessary, Raiden signaled for everyone bowing to stand up.

"Rise, brethren," he commanded, giving the all-clear for those who had paid their respects to him to get on their feet. He could see Johnny and Sonya continuing to smile up at their friend, right before the latter came bounding up the steps towards him. It was hard to believe Sonya had a series of stitches in her torso impairing her by the way she threw herself arms open at Raiden. Despite what 'tradition' may have deemed respectful, Sonya enveloped Raiden in a rib-crushing hug that highlighted the comical contrast in their statures. Although many in the crowds were shocked by her blatant disregard for etiquette in the presence of a deity, they were even more surprised to see Raiden reciprocate the gesture with an assuring pat on the shoulder.

Next came Johnny, who followed Sonya's example and gave Raiden another hug as a sign of his appreciation.

"Oh, man, I swear," he said, drawing back to look at Raiden. "I'm so happy right now, I could kiss you!"

"Try not to get carried away," Fujin warned lightly as he walked up to join the three of them on stage, reminding Johnny that they were stretching the rules as it was. He wore a pleased expression on his face as he drew up to Raiden's side, dwarfing Johnny and Sonya between them.

"You do realize what must be done now, my brother?" Fujin asked Raiden. The thunder god nodded his head in confirmation.

"Excuse us," he said, nudging Johnny and Sonya back a short distance. "But there is one final matter to which we must attend."

Sonya and Johnny looked at him and each other in confusion but did as they were told, giving Raiden and Fujin space to do whatever it was that necessitated having them step back. There was a moment of silence before many could see the clouds parting above the deities, shining down a brilliant beam of light that engulfed Raiden and his ally and transported them to an unknown location. Within an instant they were gone.

Their absence ushered in an uncomfortable silence for everyone. Sonya looked around. She was comforted upon seeing Jax, Stryker, and many of their other allies back down on the ground, but there were still several concerns that tugged at the corner of her mind.

"Johnny," she whispered, catching his attention. "Where's Kano?"

Johnny looked around and tried to help Sonya spot a glimpse of the Black Dragon member, but Kano was nowhere to be found. He shrugged his shoulders. Another thought occurred to Sonya.

"What about Reptile?"

"I dunno," he answered bluntly. "I saw him run off with the rest of the lizard brigade."

"Johnny," she said quickly in alarm. "Quan Chi went back to the Netherrealm, right? What if he got his powers back?"

"I doubt it," Johnny tried to console her. "Raiden rattled him up pretty bad."

"And what about that guy that was fighting Raiden with the flies…"

"Sonya," Johnny interrupted her. "We're trying to keep track of, like, sixty people. Just let it go and enjoy the happy ending."

Sonya looked at him in irritation for cutting her off. However, instead of retorting back like she normally would, she settled down and looked back up at the stage in anticipation of Raiden's reappearance. Much to his surprise, Johnny felt a hand cling to and wrap around his own. He looked down and saw that Sonya had grabbed his hand, and was surprised even more as he felt a reassuring squeeze from the normally boisterous lieutenant. Under any other circumstances, Johnny most likely would have made some kind of smart comment, but things being as they were he let the impulse go and waited along with Sonya for Raiden's return.

* * *

_This time he could see his superiors clearly. Raiden could feel their judgmental gaze bearing down on him and Fujin as the gargantuan busts of the Elder Gods looked down at them._

"_You have come a long way, Raiden," they chanted in unison._

"_Thank you," he responded, relishing in his restored ability to readdress his overseers when he so chose. He only addressed their direct statement, however, as he still held reservations about how much respect they truly deserved from him._

_Sensing his spite for them, the Elder Gods spoke again._

"_We are aware that you may still be apprehensive about our methods for keeping balance," they explained. "But we assure you that we do everything in the interest of preserving order between the realms, a cause to which, we have noticed, you too seem extremely dedicated."_

_Raiden narrowed his eyes at the Elder Gods, knowing that their true goal was simply to keep the One Being at bay and that they were twisting their words carefully to ensure he remained on their side. But he still wondered what they were insinuating._

"_We have discussed the situation extensively and taken your deeds into consideration. We have agreed to offer you a position on the council as an Elder God. What do you say to this, Raiden?"_

_Needless to say, their offer stunned Raiden. He looked at Fujin, who nodded reassuringly. Raiden took a moment to think their proposal over before speaking again._

"…_I thank you," he responded politely. "But I must decline your offer."_

_If the Elder Gods' visages functioned as realistic avatars, they no doubt would have registered surprise at Raiden's refusal. As it was, they only looked back blankly in response._

"_My sole duty is to Earthrealm," Raiden explained, leaving out that he felt their code of conduct was too obstructive for him to do anything effective to help his home realm should any new threats arise. "I feel she is better protected if I am around to deal with her enemies directly."_

_The Elder Gods did not respond for a moment, doubtlessly consulting with each other about Raiden's reasoning in whatever plane it was in which they physically resided. Finally, however, they came back to deliver their verdict._

"_As you wish," they responded. Raiden seemed relieved at their answer, before another thought popped into his head. _

"_However," he interrupted before they could send him and his ally off. "If there is a position on the council, may I recommend Fujin?"_

_The wind god looked at Raiden in mild surprise at the mention of his name, and the Elder Gods seemed to wait for Raiden to explain his case once more._

"_He can also function as a representative for Earthrealm," Raiden defended. "And he is one of the most trustworthy people I know."_

_The Elder Gods seemed to mull his offer over._

"_What do you say to this, Fujin?" they asked the wind god for permission._

_Fujin looked back at Raiden and smiled at his friend._

"_If Raiden deems it practical," Fujin responded. "Then I see no issue with the matter. His judgment has not failed us yet."_

_Fujin stepped forward._

"_I would be glad to accept a position on the council."_

"_Very well, then," the Elder Gods conceded. "Fujin will establish himself in the Pantheon of the Elder Gods. Raiden is free to return to his position as Earthrealm's legal defender."_

_Raiden's figurative heart leaped at the prospect of returning to his old occupation. He bowed deeply as a sign of thanks for the Elder Gods' decision._

"_You are free to go, Raiden," they dismissed him. Fujin looked back at his friend reassuringly._

_A contented Raiden returned the gesture and exited from the pantheon in a burst of lightning._

* * *

In the meantime, Sonya and Johnny had been accompanied by Nightwolf and the rest of the Earthrealm warriors. Sonya saluted Jax, who returned the favor before smiling and stretching his cybernetic arms out as an invitation for a hug from his top lieutenant. Sonya grinned back wearily and took Jax's offer, during which briefly Johnny, who apparently still had some of the warm fuzzies, tried to get in on the action.

"Slow down, boy," Jax warned him, keeping a trained eye on Johnny as the actor stepped back with his hands up in the air. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Jax let a still-smiling Sonya out of his grasp, looking her over. She was bruised, but not too badly battered, considering everything that had just transpired.

"This punk been giving you a hard time?" Jax inquired, giving Johnny another once over.

Sonya laughed, amused by the defiant expression on Johnny's face. "He's not too bad," she assured Jax, surprising Johnny as she slung a friendly arm over his shoulder.

Around them, many of the warriors began to acknowledge each other as they congregated at the top of the stage. Stryker and Kabal found each other, leading the former to slap the latter on the back as a sign of solidarity after everything through which they had been put.

Somebody tapped Kitana on the shoulder from behind. The Edenian princess whirled around to find her green-clad best friend beaming back at her.

"Jade!" Kitana cried, enthusiastically wrapping her childhood friend in a crushing hug. For a moment, it was almost like two sisters had been reunited. Then someone else called her name.

"…Kitana?"

Having scrunched her eyes in joy after seeing Jade, Kitana was forced to pull them open to see who was addressing her. The princess was shocked into silence upon seeing Sindel standing behind Jade.

"Mother?" Kitana asked incredulously, asking as if she wanted to make sure the figure wasn't the servant Quan Chi had sent to massacre everybody once before. But the tears brimming in the queen's eyes seemed to be evidence to the contrary.

"Oh, my child!" Sindel cried out as she ran to give her only daughter a loving embrace of which only a true mother was capable. She stroked her daughter's tangled hair as the latter tried hard not to start crying again.

"I am so sorry for what I have done," Sindel said, murmuring the same apology over and over as Jade joined their embrace.

Nightwolf and Kung Lao caught up with Sonya, Jax, and Johnny.

"Glad to see the gang's all here," Kung Lao commented dryly.

"Not quite," Sonya countered. "Where's your friend?"

Noticing just now that Liu Kang had abandoned him, Kung Lao scanned the crowd behind him quickly. He shrugged.

"I'm sure he'll pop up eventually," Johnny tried to assuage her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Right now I think Ray's our biggest problem. It's been a while. How do we know he's coming back?"

"He _will_ be back," Nightwolf assured all of them. "Raiden wouldn't leave us here hanging. Just be patient."

Upon Nightwolf's insistence, the rest of them waited for Raiden to return once more. Another minute passed, and then another. Many in the stands had already begun filing out of the arena through the exits that had not been blocked or destroyed, and were clearly ready to go home. One by one they left, further indicating nothing special was happening anytime soon, prompting Johnny and Jax to take temporary seats on the stage steps as they waited for Raiden.

Finally, after several minutes of nothing, their patience seemed to pay off. They could all feel the air swell with static once more a split second before a group of lightning bolts struck down mere feet away from where they rested, depositing exactly one peaceful-looking thunder god.

Johnny sprung up to get a good look at Raiden. Although he was happy to see Raiden didn't look too troubled, curiosity still got the better of him, especially since Fujin was conspicuously absent.

"What happened?" he and Sonya ended up asking simultaneously. Raiden raised a hand as indication for both of them to calm down.

"I have just spoken with the Elder Gods," Raiden explained, dropping his hand. "They offered me a position as one of their own."

All of the Earthrealmers stared at him with eyes the sizes of saucers.

"I declined," Raiden said, dispelling their assumptions. "Fujin took my place. Earthrealm is under my watch once more."

His answer was met with a round of approval from his companions; Johnny couldn't resist pounding him on the back again, eliciting another unintentional smirk on Raiden's behalf.

Their jubilation, however, was short-lived. Someone else stepped up to where the Earthrealm crew had come together, forcing a break in their reunion as they all turned their heads to see who had interrupted them.

Scorpion stood a few steps below them, eyeing Raiden warily. He thunder god returned an equally apprehensive look, anticipating a sign of retaliation from the Netherrealm specter. Much to everyone's surprise, the latter only dropped down to one knee again and bowed his head in respect, touching one set of knuckles to the ground.

"Forgive me, Lord Raiden," Scorpion apologized flatly after looking back up. "My desire for revenge against Sub-Zero was so great that it blinded me to your warning. Now I see clearly the ramifications of my actions. Quan Chi manipulated me into following him in his ploy."

Scorpion stood back up, prompting many of the Earthrealmers to tense up in defense. Raiden signaled for them to keep calm and waited to hear Scorpion out.

"My deepest apologies," the yellow ninja said, crossing his right arm over his chest to enforce his sincerity.

The Earthrealm crew parted as Raiden stepped forward to address Scorpion.

"Now you recognize Quan Chi's true intent," Raiden said, catching Scorpion's attention. "Very well. It was only a matter of time."

What little was shown of Scorpion's face registered confusion.

"…I am sorry?" he asked for clarification.

"Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei did not kill your family, Scorpion," Raiden explained. "Quan Chi did."

Scorpion's blank eyes widened in shock, and he continued to look at Raiden as he tried to discern whether the thunder god was only one of many deities from before to lie to him about his family. Soon he recognized Raiden's seriousness, and was filled with dismay at the fact that he had been so blind as to not put it together before. His expression quickly melted into one of hatred for the Netherrealm sorcerer.

"Bastard," Scorpion muttered, looking away.

"Scorpion," Raiden commanded his attention again, drawing the Shirai Ryu clan member out of his rage-fueled stupor. "I believe it is sufficiently ironic for both of us for I to be the one to suggest this, but Quan Chi _is_ back in the Netherrealm."

Scorpion continued to stare blankly at Raiden, not understanding the implication.

"Doubtless he will be waiting for you when you return."

Raiden tipped his head forward so that the brim of his hat only barely obscured the top of his gaze, as he had a tendency to do when he was trying to insinuate something. Needless to say, the allusion clicked for Scorpion immediately, and the eyes of the Netherrealm warrior crinkled slightly as a sign that he had understood.

"Thank you, Lord Raiden," was the last thing that came out of Scorpion's mouth before he vanished in a pillar of flame, without a doubt making a direct course for his home in the Netherrealm.

The others cheered Scorpion on as he vanished, but were soon shocked into silence upon seeing who had been standing behind Scorpion. Liu Kang trembled as he remained glued to his spot behind where the ninja had disappeared, looking like it took all of his nerve to look a stern Raiden in the eye. Everybody standing behind the two of them waited in dead silence to see how either would react; Sonya audibly drew her breath in.

His resolve breaking under the judging gaze of his mentor, Liu Kang fell to the ground in a bow not at all unlike the one Raiden had fallen into for him during their match. He continued to shake even as he spoke.

"Forgive me, Raiden," Liu Kang blubbered, keeping his face down in shame. "I disobeyed your orders. I was confused, and angry, but I had no right to think I knew more than you. I thought you addled and senile when your foresight turned out to be true. I do not deserve to be called your student."

Much to the others' confusion, Raiden did not attempt to stop Liu Kang's self-disparaging rant. Sonya and Johnny thought that maybe he was stretching Liu Kang' suffering out for all its worth as a form of retribution, but neither could see Raiden's face softening with sympathy for his pupil as Liu Kang went on.

"I would understand if you were to refuse my apology," Liu Kang continued to snivel as he pulled himself up to a kneeling position, still avoiding eye contact. "You would have all the right to have me face the judgment of the Elder Gods for my foolishness."

There was silence for a moment as everyone waited for Raiden's response. All they could see was Raiden's back blocking out their view of Liu Kang.

Liu Kang stayed on his knees, his head bent down in shame. Which was why he initially did not see Raiden offer his hand to him.

"Liu Kang," Raiden called him, snapping his student out of his angst-ridden trance. Liu Kang looked shakily back up at him, surprised to see Raiden's gesture when he had been expecting anger from his mentor. Stunned, Liu Kang did not know how to react. Raiden moved his empty hand as a sign of encouragement and finally moved a wary Liu Kang to grab it after the latter realized he would not be reprimanded. Raiden helped his student up and looked him in the eye now that he had the opportunity.

"I accept your apology, Liu Kang," Raiden replied, causing Liu Kang to smile in relief and bow his head as a sign of gratitude. Raiden returned the nod before continuing.

"Now I must ask you to accept my apology as well," Raiden continued, confusing Liu Kang and the rest of the Earthrealm crew listening. "I expected you to blindly follow my intuition when it was just that. I could not have expected you to understand what you did not know. I am also at fault, and you had every right to have your doubts."

Raiden held his hand out again for Liu Kang.

"Can you forgive me?"

Liu Kang looked at his teacher in wonder for bothering to apologize in the first place. Touched by the effort, Liu Kang declined Raiden's outstretched hand in favor of placing his fist in his palm and bowing.

"Of course, Lord Raiden."

Withdrawing his hand, Raiden returned the gesture. When they both stood up to look at each other once more, they received a round of approval from the team behind them. Turning around to look at his allies, Raiden looked with Liu Kang at the Earthrealm crew as they expressed their satisfaction with what they just witnessed. Liu Kang received a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Kitana at his side, with Jade and her mother in tow.

The blue-clad princess smiled at the Shaolin warrior and embraced him warmly, prompting Liu Kang to do the same.

"Well," Johnny commented, seeing all was well with their group. "Isn't this just peachy? Look, I know the day is saved, blah blah blah, but I think we've reached our hug quota for the week."

There were chuckles and sarcastic snorts in response to Johnny's comment, which the actor took in stride as Sonya wrapped her arm around his torso in a half-hug. Raiden looked back at Liu Kang, who in turn looked back upon the other members of their crew, and then at Kitana at his side. She beamed back at him.

"Let's go home," she responded, to unanimous agreement.

* * *

**Longest chapter EVER. :P Sorry it was such an extensive read, but I just wanted to sum everything up into one last chapter before writing an epilogue (I didn't expect this thing to go past 20 chapters, but oh well. :P)**


	23. Epilogue

The massive crowd cheered enthusiastically at their queen up on the main terrace of the Edenian palace. Sindel stood with Kitana and Jade by her side, raising a hand to calm the crowd down before attempting to address them.

"My fellow Edenians," Sindel boomed to the spectators below, her voice enhanced enough to rival an Earthrealm surround sound system. "I am happy to inform you today that your royal family has returned!"

Her announcement was met with more jubilation from the people below, including the Earthrealm warriors. Off to their side stood a spared Mileena and Baraka, the former helping the latter to clap his hastily re-stapled arms as Sindel spoke.

"The journey to independence from Outworld will be long and difficult," Sindel continued. "But Edenia is strong. Her people will defend her as they have for millennia!"

Her comment spurred a round of patriotic fervor from her supporters below.

"Yet," Sindel went on, prompting a small lull from the crowd's shouts. "We must not forget to thank those who helped us take this momentous step forward in Edenian history. Remember the Earthrealm warriors!"

There was more applause as Edenians cheered the group at the head of the crowd on. Sonya couldn't help but wonder that maybe Earthrealm was being given too much credit, but kept the thought to herself as she saw Johnny characteristically bask in the glow of approval. From up on the balcony Kitana waved amicably down to Liu Kang, who returned the gesture.

"Thanks to their efforts, and those of their leader," Sindel continued, "The order between realms has been secured once more. We owe our thanks to them, and to their protector god!"

As the crowd continued to shout enthusiastically, their queen soon realized that the deity in question was nowhere to be found and rushed to correct herself.

"May our thanks reach him, wherever he may be."

At this Johnny, too, realized somebody was missing and took a break from his adoring fans.

"Wait," he said, looking around confused. "Where _did_ Ray go?"

"I'm sure he'll turn up eventually," Nightwolf assured him. Realizing that was the best answer he would probably get, Johnny shrugged and returned to his cheering. Sindel continued with her monologue.

"As a sign of our gratitude, we promise to offer as much support as possible to our sister realm as she begins the road to recovery."

Her speech ended with an explosion of approval from the crowds from every realm.

* * *

Later that evening, Sonya found herself strolling with Johnny along the outskirts of the palace. She had surprised herself by taking his invitation in the first place, but after realizing they would probably not have a ride home anytime soon, she made an effort to dispel a wary Jax and joined Johnny as he attempted to make sense of their foreign environment. As they admired the lush scenery Edenia had to offer, she found herself unexpectedly engaged in pleasant conversation with the actor, a far cry from when everything that came out of his mouth spurred in her the sudden urge to strike him upside the head.

"Not bad," Johnny commented as they passed by the palace's signature fountains. "Doesn't beat Bermuda, but maybe I'm just biased."

"Shocker," Sonya replied dryly but good-naturedly as they approached the front doors of the tournament hall. They both drew to a stop and were silent for a moment.

"Weird to think this is where it all started, isn't it?" Johnny commented. Sonya was surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice, but then paused to recollect with him as she realized that this _was_ where it had all started; this was where the most unlikely of people, including an actor, a monk, and a Special Forces agent had all somehow got tangled up in the fight to save the universe. And to be honest, it hadn't turned out half bad.

She was still reminiscing before she realized that Johnny had gone up to the closed gates and was attempting to budge them open. She snapped out of her sentimental stupor to quip at him.

"Are you crazy?" she barked at him as he continued to tug on the circular red door to the fighting stage. "Those things weigh a ton each. You can't move them."

"Never say never, babe," Johnny replied without looking at her as he continued in his efforts. Normally Sonya would have protested at the 'babe' comment, but instead took it upon herself to help Johnny in his task, figuring they had taken bigger risks in their lives at this point. To her surprise, their combined efforts helped to move the massive doors a crack, allowing enough space for the two of them to sneak in.

"Wow," Johnny commented as he took in the sight of the stage at night, much less imposing than when he had first seen it filled with menacing warriors, but still giving off a grand and magnificent air nonetheless as the open space was bathed in moonlight. Sonya quickly noticed they were not alone in the arena.

"Johnny, look!" she said, grabbing his shoulder and pointing to a spot on the stage behind where Shang Tsung had once watched over the ceremonies. They could both make out a tall silhouette with a familiar coolie hat.

"Raiden!" they called out simultaneously as they rushed to greet their friend. Said thunder god turned around at the mention of his name, the glow of his eyes signaling that they were visibly crinkling as he smiled at his allies rushing on stage.

"Looks like we found your hiding spot," Sonya remarked as they drew up to his side.

"Can't ditch us that easy, Ray," Johnny responded, causing Raiden to let loose another small smirk.

"I should have known," he retorted, returning his attention to the full moon.

"Yeah," Sonya replied softly as she and Johnny joined him in his moon gazing.

"So," Johnny interrupted, not being one to handle silence well for too long. "What happens now? Any more intergalactic tournaments we should know about?"

"Not for a while," Raiden answered. "Until another realm makes a claim to her, Earthrealm will not have to participate in Mortal Kombat unless asked for assistance."

"Speaking of which," Sonya butted in, his statement triggering her memory. "Apparently Edenia's trying to break from Outworld now. Sindel explained everything earlier. She tried to thank you, but you pulled a vanishing act back there."

"Send her my apologies," Raiden responded. "But after everything that had happened, I believed I needed a little 'me-time.' You Earthrealmers know how it is."

"Well!" Sonya replied as she and Johnny faked offense at the playfully derogatory reference, encouraging another smirk from their friend. After they both calmed down, Sonya spoke again.

"You made quite a comeback there," she told Raiden, prompting him to turn to her. "We should count our lucky stars you got back when you did."

"Yeah," Johnny agreed with her. "Hard as it is to believe, that whole 'saving the world' thing can get at you. It was hard trying to hold down the fort while you were gone," he said, spurring an unexpected chuckle from Raiden.

"Thanks for coming back," Sonya said in an effort to reword Johnny's sentiments. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Raiden paused at her statement, silently reflecting on everything that had happened.

"Perhaps it is I who should be thanking both of you," he finally responded. "If it were not for the two of you, who knows what would have happened after the Elder Gods discarded me? Your aid helped to prevent disaster on a cosmic scale. I must apologize for putting you two through so much. I am sorry for having been such a burden in that time."

"What burden, man?" Johnny replied. "That's what friends do."

"…Yes," Raiden responded, smirking warmly. "It is."

"Well," Sonya said. "I love sharing the warm fuzzies as much as the next girl, but don't you think we should be getting back soon?"

Raiden continued to look up at the moon, leaving Johnny with the opportunity to speak for him.

"Why don't we just take it easy for a while?" he replied, turning his attention to the night sky as well. Outnumbered, Sonya resignedly turned her gaze upwards as well. The three of them enjoyed their view of the peaceful evening sky, a symbol of the calm that had returned after the storm. But not too much time passed before one of them felt compelled to break the silence with an urgent inquiry.

"…So am I getting that robe back, or what?"

* * *

**FINISHED IT! :D**

**Thank you so much for everyone who took the time to read and review! I really hope I'll be able to do some kind of sequel, but with school coming up I'm not making any promises. :P**

**You guys rock. I really appreciate all the feedback. Hope you guys have a great summer (or whatever season it may be in your corner of the globe). :)**


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